


The Complex Mathematics of Self

by NeurotropicAgentX



Category: Dragon Ball
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canon-Typical Violence, Canonical Character Death, F/M, Heroes, Less than Optimal Parenting, Slow Burn, Some grief, Training, parenting, redemption arc
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-08
Updated: 2018-06-10
Packaged: 2019-03-02 03:02:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 39,178
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13309062
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NeurotropicAgentX/pseuds/NeurotropicAgentX
Summary: With Goku dead, Piccolo wants to train Gohan to fight against the looming saiyan threat. Chi-Chi wants to defend her son from her husband's old enemy. Gohan wants to help protect the Earth just like his dad would, but he also wants to maybe sleep in a real bed and eat something he didn't have to catch himself. Chi-Chi and Piccolo reach an uneasy agreement that gradually shifts into something else entirely.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> From the third chapter onwards I had the input of a special guest editor alongside the input of my usual editor. Many thanks to both of them for their advice. This work would not be what it is without them.

Gohan ran through the forest toward home. It wasn’t that he was running away from his training or anything. He knew how important it was, it was just that it had been a really long time and he missed his mum. The trees thinned out ahead of him and he could see home in the middle of the clearing. He just wanted a visit. He wanted to make sure his mum was okay and to maybe have a meal he didn’t have to catch himself and a bed to sleep in under a roof. Just for a couple of nights. 

His mum was outside hanging laundry. Gohan laughed and raced forward even faster. He’d gotten good at running. His mum turned at the sound and dropped the sheet she was holding. Gohan was pretty sure he’d never seen her drop laundry before. 

‘Gohan!’ she called out, running toward him. She grabbed him in a big hug as soon as she got close enough. ‘Gohan are you alright? Did he hurt you? How did you escape?’

Gohan hugged back hard, but not too hard. He couldn’t answer the question just yet. His throat felt tight and he just wanted to stay like this for a while. ‘Hi, Mum,’ he said after a moment.

‘Oh, Gohan,’ she said, her voice warm and just a little bit worried. 

‘So, you decided to abandon your training,’ came a familiar voice from across the clearing. 

Gohan barely had time to catch a glimpse of Piccolo before his mum turned right around to get in between them. ‘Stay behind me, Gohan,’ she said in her serious voice. ‘You’re not stealing my son away again, you monster. Get out of here!’ 

Piccolo smirked. ‘I’m not sure what you think _you_ could do about it. Your son’s already much stronger than you. Maybe he should be the one standing in front of you.’

‘You’ll have to go through me. There’s no way I’m letting you at my son,’ Chi-Chi said, her voice going cold.

‘I wasn’t planning on going through you, but if you insist…’

‘No!’ Gohan shouted. ‘Don’t hurt my mum!’ He could feel his power rising in him. It had been happening faster and more often as his training progressed.

Piccolo gave Gohan a long look, his expression unreadable. ‘Like I said, I wasn’t planning on it.’ He folded his arms before turning his gaze back to Chi-Chi. ‘I’m not doing this for fun. Gohan needs to train and he’s coming with me.’ 

Chi-Chi drew herself up. ‘I am his mother and he’s staying with me!’

‘Um,’ Gohan interrupted in a small voice. His mum and Piccolo both turned to look at him. He tried to stand up straighter. ‘I wasn’t running away. I know I need to help defend the Earth. Just like Dad would! But I just… I just wanted to see Mum again and maybe sleep in my bed for a night or two. It was just going to be a visit, I promise.’ He looked between the two of them, hoping they’d understand.

Something flickered across Piccolo’s expression, but it was gone before Gohan could tell what it meant. His mum looked sad, her eyes going all wide, but then she scowled again and rounded on Piccolo. ‘And just where _has_ he been sleeping all this time? Have _you_ been looking after him? What’s he been eating? He looks much too skinny!’

‘What does it matter where he’s been sleeping? And he… “eats”.’ Piccolo’s lip curled slightly.

‘Unacceptable,’ Chi-Chi said briskly. ‘He’s going to stay here from now on where I can look after him.’

‘You can’t stop him training,’ said Piccolo. ‘You can’t stop him and you certainly can’t stop me.’

Gohan shifted where he stood. ‘I think I should stay here,’ he said. Piccolo looked down and scowled at him. ‘No, I mean I’ve learned a lot surviving out there, but training’s different now. It’s about fighting now and I’d be more focused if I didn’t have to worry about food and sleeping.’ He looked between Piccolo and his mum. 

Piccolo narrowed his eyes. ‘If it increases your focus, you can stay. If I don’t notice an improvement, I’m taking you back to the wilderness.’

Chi-Chi took a step forward and crossed her arms as well. ‘It looks like you might not be able to stop him from leaving either. Remember that, Piccolo.’

Piccolo grunted and turned his attention back to Gohan. ‘We’re not done for the day,’ he said. ‘When you finish training you can come back here for the night.’

Chi-Chi got between them again. ‘You’ll bring him back here when training’s over. He’s not going around unsupervised any more.’

The corner of Piccolo's mouth lifted, baring one of his fangs. ‘You know that his power level makes him one of the safest people on this planet, right?’

Chi-Chi stepped forward and poked Piccolo in the chest. ‘That’s not the point. Gohan is a _child_ and he’s not running around alone at night.’ 

Piccolo took a step back, eyeing Chi-Chi’s hand. ‘Whatever.’ His gaze flicked down to Gohan and then back up. ‘Come on, Gohan. We’re done here.’ With that he turned around and walked off.

Gohan gave his mum a last quick hug. ‘I’ll be back soon!’ he called over his shoulder, running to catch up with Piccolo. He slowed to a quick trot when he reached Piccolo’s side. ‘Thanks, Piccolo.’

Piccolo grunted.

‘I really wasn’t running away. I didn’t even think you’d notice I’d gone. It was only going to be a couple of days.’

Piccolo shot him a glance. ‘Of course I noticed,’ he said scornfully.

‘Oh,’ said Gohan. 

///

The sun was just sinking beneath the horizon when Piccolo decided that training was done for the day. Gohan’s blocks and dodges were getting slow and clumsy. His focus was also fading with the sunlight and it was clear he was distracted by the idea of going home and seeing his mother. He kept shooting glances in the direction of the house, even though they were too far away to see it. They were still closer than Piccolo would have liked, but it made sense not to waste too much time getting distance when they were only going to go back later. 

Even a month ago he wouldn’t have bent to Gohan’s requests like he had. But it was true that Gohan’s training had progressed from increasing strength and resilience to focusing on combat technique. Piccolo was curious about whether beds and meals would improve Gohan’s performance. He had gotten stronger once he’d started hunting, rather than relying on plants, but that could have just been the passage of time.

Piccolo shot a final energy blast at Gohan. Gohan crossed his wrists in a block, clearly too tired to dodge. He cried out as the blast slammed into him, flinging him back several paces.

‘You’re done,’ Piccolo said. ‘Get up and we’ll head back to your house.’

‘Okay,’ Gohan said weakly, struggling to his feet.

Piccolo sighed, turning in the right direction. This would get easier once Gohan was capable of flying. For now they both trudged off. The trip was exactly as uneventful as Piccolo had predicted, though his discomfort grew as they approached the house. He was glad to have some sort of agreement with Gohan’s mother, but he had no idea how this supposed to go.

The door was wrenched open before they’d gotten to it. Chi-Chi stood in the doorway and her gaze immediately went to Gohan. Piccolo cleared his throat, and her focus switched over to him. Her eyes narrowed. The scrutiny was disconcerting. He didn’t know what to say and was vaguely regretting his decision to follow Gohan so closely. 

‘Come inside, Gohan,’ Chi-Chi said tightly without taking her eyes of Piccolo.

‘Bye, Piccolo!’ Gohan called. The door slammed shut in Piccolo’s face. He stared at the door for a moment before turning to leave. 

///

‘Gohan, dinner will be ready in a moment. Go and wash your hands,’ Chi-Chi said briskly.

‘Okay, Mum!’ 

Chi-Chi watched as he left the room. When he was out of sight, she turned around and pressed her back against the door. Her hands were shaking and she clasped them tightly together to stop the motion. She would not be intimidated by the likes of Piccolo, but she was keenly aware that he could kidnap her son at any moment. None of this would have happened if Goku were around. Chi-Chi bit her lip and forced that thought away too. Goku was dead, but he was coming back, and showing her grief wouldn’t help anyone, least of all Gohan. 

She straightened up, checked to make sure her hair was still neatly pinned and held up one hand. It had stopped shaking. She nodded decisively to herself and headed to the kitchen. It had taken time to work out portions and stop cooking as much food as she had when Goku – 

Well. 

It was a good thing she still had her big recipes. Gohan was a growing boy and he needed his energy. Chi-Chi was sure she hadn’t overcooked and had fretted for most of the day over whether she had cooked enough. It was a lot easier than fretting over whether Piccolo would keep his word and whether she’d see her son again.

But Gohan was here now and he needed his mother more than ever. Chi-Chi worked quickly, moving dishes on and off the heat as needed, draining noodles, adding last-minute sauces, transferring food from pots to serving dishes and losing herself in the complex rhythm of a well-run kitchen. She’d refined her skills to the point where her body knew how to move, often before she’d even registered which dish next needed her attention.

Gradually the atmosphere in the kitchen went from busy cooking to light touches of presentation. Chi-Chi sprinkled a handful of sliced spring onion over the last dish and wiped her hands on the tea-towel that was slung over her shoulder. She grabbed a tray and loaded up the first set of dishes. It was nice feeling the familiar strain of carrying so much food again.

Gohan was sitting quietly at the dinner table. His eyes went wide as he saw how much Chi-Chi was carrying in and his stomach made a loud noise. Chi-Chi set everything down and set out portions for herself and Gohan. 

‘You can go back for as many refills as you want,’ she said firmly. ‘I doubt Piccolo was paying attention to things like proper balanced nutrition.’

‘Thanks, Mum,’ said Gohan. He was watching the food intently. As soon as the dish was in front of him he picked up his chopsticks and started shovelling food into his mouth.

Chi-Chi felt a pang of nostalgia and hid her expression behind her own bowl. She picked at her food, mostly just happy to have Gohan back and know that he was being looked after properly. While he was distracted by dinner, she took the opportunity to really look at him. There were a few old bruises and healing scrapes on his arms and he seemed to be favouring one shoulder just slightly. Rage simmered in Chi-Chi. How _dare_ that monster hurt her son. She knew training could be brutal. She’d been a fighter herself, but Gohan was a child who hadn’t had a choice and Piccolo was her husband’s enemy. He was almost certainly taking that out on her son.

‘How are you feeling?’ she asked pensively.

Gohan swallowed a huge mouthful of food. ‘I’m fine, Mum. I’m really glad to be home.’ He looked down into his bowl. ‘I missed you.’

Chi-Chi smiled. ‘I missed you too.’ More than she’d say. She wasn’t about to put that kind of responsibility on Gohan.

Gohan went from inhaling his food to eating at a slower pace and they chatted as he gradually cleared his plate. And the serving plates. She didn’t mention studying once, but found herself on the brink of saying something several times. It was important for Gohan to recover and right now she just wanted to be able to look after him and keep him safe. But studying was so important for Gohan and his future. A fighter’s life was a hard one and she wanted something more than that for him, something better. And now Piccolo, of all people, was dragging Gohan into that world.

‘Your room’s just how you left it,’ Chi-Chi said quietly, once Gohan had finished eating. ‘You can have an early night if you’d like.’

Gohan gave her a sleepy smile. ‘Yeah, I will.’

‘Don’t forget to brush your teeth,’ Chi-Chi said as he pushed away from the table.

‘I won’t,’ Gohan replied. 

Chi-Chi started clearing away the dishes and sent him a smile. It was only then that she really noticed what was different. ‘Gohan! What happened to your tail?!’

///

Gohan looked up from his lunch with a startled expression on his face, his chopsticks halfway to his mouth.

‘What’s wrong?’ Chi-Chi asked anxiously. The morning had felt almost normal and Chi-Chi had been able to pretend it was, for Gohan’s sake, but deep inside she’d been waiting for things to go wrong.

‘Gohan! Get out here!’ Piccolo bellowed from outside.

Chi-Chi stamped down hard on her nervousness, letting her anger rise in its place. He wasn’t even going to knock at the door!

‘Coming!’ Gohan shouted back. He bolted the last of his food, faster than she’d ever seen him eat. ‘Thanks, Mum, bye!’ he called out with his mouth still full. He pushed back from the table and sprinted for the door.

He moved so fast that she didn’t even have time to tell him not to run in the house. ‘Bye, Gohan!’ she shouted after him as the door slammed shut. She’d see him again. If Piccolo didn’t let him come back, Gohan would just run away. She started clearing away the dishes and furiously started planning an elaborate dinner in her head. They’d be no time to think about anything else. She’d make sure of it. Gohan would be back.

///

They reached the edges of the forest around Chi-Chi’s house. Gohan was nearly asleep on his feet and their pace had been slow as a result. Piccolo resolved to teach him how to fly as soon as possible. This was getting tiresome. He looked down. ‘Go on,’ he said.

Gohan looked between him and the house. ‘Okay. Uh, see you tomorrow.’ He gave a tentative smile.

Piccolo stared back, expressionless, until Gohan turned around and trotted across the clearing. Piccolo wasn’t about to come to the door again and have to work out what to say and do. Chi-Chi would just have to be satisfied with supervision at a distance. It wasn’t like he ever let Gohan out of sight in the wilderness anyway. He’d spent too much time and effort training the kid to have him fall off a cliff or get caught off guard by wildlife. 

Piccolo watched as Chi-Chi opened the door. She peered into the night for a long moment, one arm wrapped protectively around Gohan. Her gaze even settled on Piccolo’s location for a moment and he held still, feeling uneasy. She wasn’t strong enough to sense him, couldn’t be. He could barely sense her power levels most of the time. 

She ushered Gohan inside and closed the door. Piccolo let out a silent breath and turned to go.

///

‘Gohan! Come down for lunch!’ Chi-Chi called.

Gohan perked up and slammed his textbook closed. It had only taken a couple of days before his mum had started making him study again. The books were interesting and all, he just wished he didn’t have so much work to do. He raced downstairs and glanced at the clock. No wonder he wasn’t feeling very hungry yet, it was an hour before lunchtime. 

Chi-Chi caught him looking at the clock. ‘I know it’s early, but considering the way Piccolo just turns up in the middle of the day whenever he _feels like it_ , I decided we’ll be having lunch early from now on. I’m sure we’ll get used to it.’ The last sentence was muttered under her breath and Gohan wasn’t sure if he was meant to hear it. 

Lunch smelled great and Gohan picked up his chopsticks as soon as his mum sat down too. He ate slower since he didn’t need to rush. He got told off if he bolted his food too quickly. Sometimes Mum even told Dad off. Gohan hesitated, his chopsticks hovering over his bowl. 

‘How are you finding the new biology textbook?’ Chi-Chi asked in her quiet voice. 

Gohan gratefully focused on the new topic. ‘It’s really interesting! There are all these pictures of new animals in all these different places.’ He started eating again, being careful not to talk with his mouth full.

Chi-Chi smiled. ‘Do you have any favourites?’

‘I like the desert animals. Did you know a lot of them they have big ears because they can get rid of more heat that way?’

‘That sounds very interesting.’

‘Yeah! Do you think if I grew big ears I’d get less hot when I trained?’

Chi-Chi frowned. ‘I hope you drink plenty of water when you’re out there. It’s dangerous to overheat.’

‘Piccolo says the same thing. He’s always carrying water and talking about how important it is to drink it.’

Chi-Chi’s frown went from worried to puzzled. ‘Does he now? Well… good. Staying hydrated is important.’

‘What about you? Do you have a favourite animal?’ Gohan asked. 

Chi-Chi took another bite of her food while she thought. Gohan decided that he liked having an early lunch.

///

Piccolo landed a few paces from the door of the house. ‘Gohan!’ he shouted. There was a clatter from inside. Gohan didn’t appear and Piccolo considered calling out again.

Then the door thudded open and Chi-Chi stood there, framed in the doorway. Gohan was a few steps behind her, still in the house. Piccolo eyed them and wondered if it was worth turning around and walking into the forest. Gohan would probably follow him. Probably.

‘Piccolo, we need to talk,’ Chi-Chi snapped at him. He folded his arms and stayed silent, not sure what he should say. Undeterred, Chi-Chi took a couple of steps forward and spoke again. ‘I thought I made myself clear when I said that you would walk Gohan to the door. He is a _child_ and until you bring him right back to me, _you_ are the one responsible for his wellbeing.’

Piccolo frowned. ‘I stay to watch him get to the door. If he was attacked I’d step in.’

Chi-Chi’s eyes narrowed. ‘I don’t care. You will walk him to the door and knock like a civilised person. In fact, no more of this bellowing from the garden. At all. If you’re coming to collect Gohan you’re also going to come to the door and knock.’

Piccolo stared. He had no idea why any of this mattered, but it definitely wasn’t worth arguing over. He was wasting valuable training time and there wasn’t any reason not to humour these particular requests. ‘Fine. Come on Gohan.’

Gohan took a step forward and Chi-Chi bent down to give him a fierce hug. Piccolo’s lip curled. Gohan hugged back just as hard. ‘See you at dinner,’ Chi-Chi said firmly. She straightened up and glared at Piccolo, as if daring him to say something. 

He turned around and made his way into the forest. He could hear Gohan following and he didn’t look back once. He had a feeling that Chi-Chi’s eyes were still on him. It made his shoulderblades itch. 

///

It was just getting dark and Piccolo stood in front of the door of Gohan’s house. He was almost sure Chi-Chi was just on the other side of the door, waiting. He glanced down at Gohan and then glanced back at the door.

He cleared his throat. ‘Okay. Knock on the door like a civilised person,’ he muttered to Gohan. 

‘…Okay,’ said Gohan. He raised a fist and tapped it gently against the door. The move used a fraction of Gohan’s strength, but made a dull sort of sound. Piccolo nodded to himself and the door opened a second later.

Chi-Chi glanced down at Gohan and then up at Piccolo. ‘Thank you,’ she said tightly.

Gohan waved goodbye and the door shut behind him. Piccolo flew off.

///

Night had truly fallen the next time Piccolo stood in front of Chi-Chi’s door with Gohan. Training had gone well and he’d kept Gohan out an hour or so longer than usual. It wasn’t because he was trying to delay this moment. The kid had been getting a lot stronger lately, that was all. He raised a fist, hesitated for the barest second, and then tapped it against the door. The door opened and Chi-Chi stood there, light from the hallway spilling out around her. Piccolo’s hand was still raised and he hurriedly folded his arms. ‘Here’s your son back, Mrs Son,’ he muttered.

Chi-Chi gave him an odd look. ‘Yes. Thank you, Piccolo.’ There was an odd note in her voice and Piccolo wasn’t sure what it meant. ‘Come on Gohan,’ she said, her voice going just a bit warmer.

‘Bye, Piccolo!’ Gohan said.

‘Bye.’

Chi-Chi gave him another odd look. ‘Goodbye, Piccolo.’

He blinked, his shoulders tightening. ‘Bye,’ he muttered. Maybe knocking had been a mistake. The door closed with less force than usual and he stared at it for a long moment before leaving. 

///

‘You’ve gotten much stronger,’ Piccolo said.

Gohan laughed. ‘Well yeah! I’ve been getting stronger every day since I started training with you.’

Piccolo grunted. ‘Exactly. I know how strong you get in a month. This is different. You’ve never made progress this fast before.’ It was true. Gohan’s power level had shot up over the last few weeks and now his energy blasts didn’t drain him half as much as they used to. At this rate they might actually have a chance when the saiyans showed up.

Gohan scratched the back of his head. ‘Maybe it’s because I’m getting more food and sleep? That’s what I was saying back in the beginning. Not worrying about that stuff means I can focus better.’

Piccolo grunted again. This was more than focus, this was _energy_ and it was making Gohan _a lot_ stronger. ‘Alright, fix your stance. We’ll take a break when you land a hit on me.’

Gohan planted his feet and his expression went grim and determined. A smile tugged at the corner of Piccolo’s lips as he settled into his own fighting stance. Gohan had also been more dedicated lately. He was disciplined, more willing to push himself, and it got results. Unfortunately, it meant keeping the peace with Chi-Chi was only becoming more important. Living with her was undeniably good for Gohan’s training and simply kidnapping him again if things got too difficult was starting to look like a bad option instead of a viable plan B. These days Piccolo wasn’t even completely sure he _could_ keep Gohan away from Chi-Chi. The kid was getting too strong for that.

Piccolo dodged Gohan’s first energy blast and sprang forward to deliver a punch. Gohan blocked and turned, shedding the force of Piccolo’s strike completely. He’d gotten fast too. Piccolo grinned and readied another energy blast. This was going to be a good training session.

///

Gohan looked at the pile of worksheets he needed to complete. His wrist was still kind of sore from when he hadn’t blocked quickly enough a couple of days ago. He sighed. It was a lot of worksheets and he had to finish them all. He’d never get them all done today and they’d be plenty more tomorrow. Maybe he should start getting up earlier. That would mean more time to finish his studying before he went training with Piccolo.

Gohan nodded to himself and picked up his pen. His tongue stuck out the corner of his mouth as he tackled the first set of equations. He liked algebra and Chi-Chi mostly wrote out problems that were interesting to solve. Still, he was looking forward to getting called down to lunch, especially now that he didn’t have to rush.

///

Chi-Chi had prepared everything she needed for dinner, despite the fact that she’d run out of eggs and getting to the shop in time would have been difficult. She was sitting at the table with Gohan’s algebra textbook open beside her and a fresh sheet of paper in front of her. The book was open to the chapter titled ‘Rates of Change’ and she glanced back at it every so often as she put together questions. She made sure to include a question about heat emission with a simple surface area to volume calculation based on the size of a desert fox’s ears. Gohan would like that.

This was the eighth worksheet she’d put together today, but it was a lot easier thinking about academic questions than about what Gohan was doing right now. A sound broke through the relative quiet of the house. 

Plink. 

Chi-Chi frowned over the textbook and numbered the next question. Plink. It was the kitchen tap. Chi-Chi sighed, got up, and went into the kitchen. The hot water tap was tight when she tried to turn it. So was the cold water tap. Plink. Chi-Chi frowned and pit her considerable strength against both taps. They turned maybe an extra quarter turn. She waited. A drip started to form. Chi-Chi glared at it. 

Plink. 

She growled. Obviously the washers needed changing. She shouldn’t have to deal with this – this was what husbands were for! Her throat felt tight and something hot seemed to be rising in her chest. It wasn’t fair! Goku should be here to look after the taps and make sure nothing bad happened and she shouldn’t have to be the only one keeping the household together and looking after everything and making sure nothing bad happened to, to, the _taps_. And water was important and – 

There was a careful knock on the door. Chi-Chi swallowed her anger and drew herself up. Everything was fine. She was going to _make sure_ everything was fine. Plink went the tap as Chi-Chi stepped out of the kitchen. She forced herself not to react as she went to the front door. There were Gohan and Piccolo. Her son was swaying slightly and he looked worse than usual. Chi-Chi ignored Piccolo and kept her voice quiet when she spoke to Gohan. ‘You look tired, Gohan. Why don’t you go upstairs and take a quick nap before dinner.’ They were back an hour or so earlier than usual. It was clearly _too much_ for Piccolo to keep any _sensible_ kind of schedule. 

Gohan gave her a tired smile. ‘Yeah, that sounds good. Bye, Piccolo.’

‘Bye, Gohan,’ said Piccolo, watching as her son went upstairs. Chi-Chi stared at Piccolo, but he just stood there impassively in the doorway. She heard the sound of Gohan’s door closing. A moment later the tap dripped again. Chi-Chi’s grip on the doorframe tightened as her hand clenched and her lips pulled back from her teeth in a snarl. Piccolo’s eyes widened, but he still just stood there, arms folded, watching her.

‘The tap is dripping,’ she said between clenched teeth.

Piccolo gave her a wary look. ‘What?’

‘I said,’ Chi-Chi repeated in a harsh voice, ‘the. Tap. Is. _Dripping_.’

‘Uh…’

‘The tap is dripping and Goku isn’t here to fix it! I don’t remember if he ever even fixed it once in the years we were together. But that’s what husbands do! That’s what they’re _for_! They fix things! And I can’t remember if he fixed it before. It’s such a little thing and I forgot! What will I forget in a year? What will _Gohan_ forget? It’s not _right_.’

Piccolo made a noise in the back of his throat. He hadn’t left.

Chi-Chi threw up her hands. ‘And I’m out of eggs! And I didn’t finish the algebra worksheet! And the _tap is dripping_. What kind of world do we live in that one day the tap is dripping and there’s no one around to fix it? Where that can just _happen_ one day, out of the blue!’

Piccolo nodded hesitantly. 

Chi-Chi took a deep breath and drew her composure around herself. Her chin tilted up. ‘I can do it, you know. It’s important to have some practical skills, to keep a wrench and some spare washers on hand. It’s not hard if you’re prepared. I shouldn’t have to do this alone, but I can.’

Piccolo nodded again.

Chi-Chi sighed. She felt… better. It had been nice to talk, even if Piccolo had just been standing there. She looked at him curiously. He was still standing there, watching her. He looked less uncertain now that she’d composed herself. Come to think of it, she’d never actually seen him leave before. She’d always shut the door first. ‘Thank you for listening,’ she said.

‘…Okay. You’re… welcome,’ he said. He shifted his weight, but it wasn’t into a fighting stance.

‘Goodbye, Piccolo.’

‘Goodbye, Mrs Son,’ he replied.

She closed the door and went to get the wrench and a couple of spare washers. She’d get it done and maybe even finish the maths worksheet before Gohan got up.

///

There was measured knock on the door. Gohan took a breath like he was about to bolt the rest of his lunch, but Chi-Chi was ready. ‘Gohan! Don’t eat so quickly. I’ll go talk to Piccolo. It’s isn’t even midday and he’s not picking you up this early.’ She crossed her arms and waited until Gohan had taken a sedate bite of food before making her way to the door.

Piccolo was on the threshold. He nodded at her before peering around inside to look for Gohan. 

‘We’re still eating lunch. We’ve already started having it earlier to fit in with _your_ schedule, so the least you can do is respect mine.’

Piccolo grunted. ‘Alright, I’ll wait. How long will Gohan be?’

Chi-Chi narrowed her eyes. ‘I’m not having you hover out here waiting. You can come inside to wait.’

Piccolo glanced at her and then glanced inside again. ‘…Alright.’

Chi-Chi stepped aside and gestured for Piccolo to come in. She felt a twinge of nervousness. She hadn’t been really thinking about how inviting Piccolo in would mean that _Piccolo would be inside her house_. It was reflexive not have him wait outside. It would have made a strange situation even stranger.

Piccolo hesitated before coming inside. He glanced around the room, his gaze flitting to the doors and windows in particular. 

‘We’re eating in the dining room,’ said Chi-Chi firmly and led the way. Piccolo followed her silently. She took her seat again, feeling a little odd at the way Gohan brightened when he saw Piccolo. ‘You can take a seat if you want,’ she said, pointing to the free one on her left. Piccolo’s gaze flicked between her and Gohan. 

‘Thank you, but I’ll stand,’ he said. 

The meal continued in silence for a while. Chi-Chi eventually drew Gohan into chatting about his study. Piccolo watched them intently. Maybe it would have been less weird to have him wait outside. At least Piccolo was being polite. At least Gohan was eating slowly. He’d made himself sick a couple of times when he was younger, trying to imitate the way his father used to… 

Chi-Chi cleared her throat and turned to Piccolo. ‘As you can see, we’ve usually finished around midday. If you can wait until then, then Gohan won’t have to rush.’

‘Sure, fine.’

Gohan had cleaned his plate. ‘Is it time to go now?’ he asked, looking between her and Piccolo.

‘I suppose so. I’ll see you at dinner.’ She got up when he did and gave him a quick hug. 

Piccolo turned toward the door and Gohan fell into step beside him. Whatever else Chi-Chi could say about Piccolo, Gohan didn’t seem the least bit scared of him.

///

‘What’s wrong with you?’ Piccolo asked. Gohan was faster than this. He should be able to block most of the attacks Piccolo was making. After the increase to his speed and power that his time at home had granted him, this felt a lot like losing progress.

‘Sorry. I’m just a bit tired. I got up early to study more.’ 

Piccolo made a disapproving noise. ‘The sleep was improving your training. You need to do more of that so you don’t start losing that progress.’

‘Sorry, Piccolo, I’ve just had a lot of work from Mum to do lately.’

Piccolo grunted. ‘Well you’re no good for sparring today. Go back to practicing energy blasts until you’ve regained some focus.’

In another hour Gohan was yawning and the sun had barely started to set. Piccolo shot an energy blast and frowned when Gohan couldn’t dodge in time. ‘You’re done,’ he called out. 

Gohan agreed, weakly, and got up.

When they arrived back at the house, Piccolo knocked a bit firmer than usual. Chi-Chi opened the door and he tried to remember the phrase she had used. ‘We need to talk,’ he said.

She raised one of her eyebrows at him. ‘Alright, what about?’ she asked.

‘Gohan isn’t sleeping enough and it’s affecting his training.’

Chi-Chi glanced down at Gohan. He gave her a tired smile and swayed a bit. ‘What’s wrong, Gohan?’ she asked.

‘You’ve been making him do too much work,’ Piccolo said.

Chi-Chi immediately rounded on him, her eyes blazing. ‘ _I’ve_ been giving him too much work?! You’re the one taking him out fighting all the time! I just get him to study so he’ll have a future.’

‘No one will have a future if the saiyans have their way. The training is important.’

‘And so is the studying!’ Chi-Chi yelled back.

‘He’s been getting up hours earlier and it makes him slow.’

For a moment Chi-Chi hesitated. She glanced down at Gohan who was stifling a very obvious yawn. The glare she gave Piccolo was almost palpable, but she dismissed him a moment later to crouch down to Gohan’s level. ‘Is that true? What time have you been getting up?’

Gohan scratched the back of his head ruefully. ‘Uh, maybe like, three, four o’clock?’

Piccolo didn’t think Gohan caught the shock that flashed across Chi-Chi’s face. ‘Oh, Gohan…’ she said.

‘I’m sorry! It’s just there’s a lot of studying to get done, and like you say, it’s important – ’ he broke off into another yawn.

‘Alright, you’re taking a nap before dinner and from now on you’re not getting up before seven. I know when you go to bed and you’re a growing boy who needs his sleep,’ Chi-Chi said firmly. 

‘But what about studying?’ Gohan asked.

Chi-Chi shot a look at Piccolo. ‘We’ll work something out. Now off to bed. I’ll wake you in time for dinner.’

‘Okay, Mum. Bye, Piccolo.’

Piccolo muttered his own goodbye.

Chi-Chi straightened up and brushed her hands over the front of her skirt. She took a deep breath and released it slowly. Only then did she look back up at Piccolo. ‘Thank you for letting me know about this,’ she said, every word tense and clipped.

Piccolo grunted. ‘Why – ’ he hesitated, glanced inside to confirm Gohan was out of earshot. ‘Why is studying so important to you?’ he asked. Chi-Chi had stood toe-to-toe with him since the moment she got between him and Gohan and told him that he’d have to go through her. It wasn’t odd that she was pushing back once again, but she hadn’t been so… fierce… since that first encounter.

Chi-Chi stared hard at him, searching for something in his expression. He kept his face as blank as he could. She sighed again. ‘Because it _is_ important for his future. I want him to have a life beyond fighting, a better life than his – ’ She pressed her lips together, took another deep breath. Piccolo could _hear_ her carefully not reference Goku. ‘A better life than I had, I suppose,’ she continued. ‘I got no educational support at home, growing up, and I only started going to school with the other village children much later when I convinced my father it was important. I was older than the other kids and picked things up slower. Apparently that’s what happens when you start maths and reading at that age. I fought for every bit of progress, I had to. Do you know I still have trouble with mental arithmetic? I’m fine if I can write it down, but I never developed some of the skills the other kids did.’

‘But why does he need that stuff?’ Piccolo asked.

‘So there can be more in his life than fighting. I know what it’s like to be a fighter. I’ve lived it and I’ve… seen it. It’s dangerous and it’s lonely and I think he has a much better chance at happiness outside of fighting.’ She gave Piccolo a sharp look. ‘I mean what about you, Piccolo? Are you happy? Is your life the sort of life you want for Gohan?’

Piccolo couldn’t keep the surprise off his face. He didn’t think about his life in that way, didn’t wonder about ‘better’ or ‘worse’. He’d been born with one purpose and that was to kill Goku. And he’d succeeded. Eventually. Sort of. A lot of the satisfaction had been taken out of it because Goku had _told_ him to do it to take out Raditz. But something had changed that day when Piccolo had lost the primary purpose of his existence and started developing his own goals. Goals that he was sure were _his_ goals and not King Piccolo’s. Goals like training Gohan.

Chi-Chi was still looking at him, her gaze piercing, seeing too much. He bared his teeth. ‘It doesn’t matter what sort of life he has. It matters that he _has_ a life. I’ve seen what saiyans can do. And you’d know it too, better than most people who weren’t on that battlefield.’

There was brief flicker of hurt in her eyes, but it was quickly drowned beneath the force of her anger. Piccolo still felt vaguely uncomfortable. ‘Fine,’ she said quietly. ‘You can keep him alive. I’ll see that he does something with that life.’ She held out her hand. ‘I won’t stand in the way of Gohan’s protection, but if anything happens to him, I’m coming after you with everything I’ve got. With _everyone_ I’ve got. Goku’s not going to be gone forever and he’s defeated you before.’ Nothing in her expression changed even a fraction as she said Goku’s name. Piccolo was impressed despite himself. 

He looked down at her hand. She would make sure Gohan got the sleep he needed and he hadn’t had to _do_ anything, other than tell her about it. It was like having an ally, in a way. Someone to watch over the things about Gohan that he still didn’t fully understand, like sleeping and eating. He grasped her hand gently, mindful of their fragile peace. She squeezed back and stared into his eyes unflinchingly. 

‘It’s a deal,’ he said, his voice sounding a little strained to his own ears. The unfamiliar contact, with no edge of violence was… strange.

Chi-Chi gave him a hard smile and let go of his hand. He felt a mix of relief and disappointment. ‘Good. I’ll see you at midday, Piccolo.’ 

He nodded and she shut the door behind her. He flew off.


	2. Chapter 2

Gohan laughed as he flew a loop through the air. Going upside-down in mid air always made him feel a little dizzy, but that was half the fun. Piccolo was floating cross-legged a little way off to his right. His eyes were shut and it looked like he was meditating, but whenever Gohan flew too far away he’d open his eyes and stare until Gohan came back. It was almost like a game. 

Piccolo had been teaching him to fly for a while now, but only in the last week or so had he gotten good enough that it was more fun than effort. It was a really different way of using his ki compared to blasting. Gohan did one last loop before flying over to Piccolo and settling opposite him in the air. He also crossed his legs and tried to imitate Piccolo’s very-serious face. Piccolo’s face was almost always wearing his very-serious expression. 

‘How was that?’ Gohan asked.

Piccolo grunted. ‘You’ve gotten better.’

Gohan grinned, forgetting about trying to look serious. ‘I’ve never seen you fly a loop-de-loop,’ he said. 

It was hard to tell if Piccolo was holding back a smile or a frown, but his expression flickered for a moment. ‘I don’t fly like that unless I’m dodging in mid-air. Speaking of which…’ Piccolo unfolded his legs and stood on the air. Gohan scrambled up as well, only wobbling a little. Piccolo settled into a mid-air fighting stance. ‘You’re finally good enough to spar up here.’ 

Gohan’s pulse picked up as he readied himself to dodge Piccolo’s attacks. ‘Right.’

‘Land three hits on me and we can head down.’

Gohan nodded. He wanted to show that he could manage it, but even more, he wanted to see Piccolo do some trick flying. The only way to get that to happen would be by making _him_ dodge. Gohan focused on his ki and prepared to unleash some long-range blasts.

///

Gohan was panting and slouched by the time they made it back to the ground. The kid hadn’t done too badly in his first mid-air fight and some of his energy blasts had been impressively powered. Even as worn-out as he had to be, Gohan still grinned at him. ‘Will you teach me how to do that cork-screw move?’ he asked. ‘It was really cool and you turned around really fast and never even got dizzy!’

Piccolo grunted. He’d been forced to pull out some of his more… creative moves to dodge Gohan’s initial attacks. ‘Sure.’

Gohan’s grin broadened. Then he looked up at the horizon. ‘Are we going back now?’ he asked.

Even if the sun hadn’t been setting, Gohan was too worn out to make further training useful. ‘Yes, but we’re flying back.’ 

Gohan groaned, but straightened up anyway. Piccolo was mostly relieved not to have to trudge along the ground when he had the kid in tow.

Night had fallen properly when they got back to Gohan’s house. They both landed lightly, Gohan unsteady on his feet when he touched down. The door opened at Piccolo’s knock. Chi-Chi looked less wary than usual. ‘Good timing. Go and wash up, Gohan,’ she said.

‘Alright, Mum, bye Piccolo!’

Gohan raced upstairs. Piccolo turned his attention back to Chi-Chi. She was standing in the doorframe and watching him, not closing the door. He folded his arms and looked right back. The silence stretched between them. Piccolo assumed she had something to say, but she just kept quiet. Gohan would come down soon enough. Would she just keep standing there?

Piccolo’s shoulders hunched slightly as the moments ticked by. Eventually he broke the silence. ‘What?’ he muttered. 

Chi-Chi pressed her lips together, but it wasn’t her usual annoyed expression. There was something in her eyes that looked amused. ‘Oh nothing, just testing a theory. Goodbye Piccolo, thanks for bringing Gohan back safely.’

He nodded warily. ‘You’re welcome.’

The corner of her mouth lifted and she closed the door. Some of the stiffness across Piccolo’s shoulders eased and he uncrossed his arms. He gave the door one last wary look and then flew off.

///

Gohan bounced down the stairs and saw Chi-Chi peering through the curtain near the front door before twitching it closed and turning to him.

‘It’s odd,’ she said. 

‘Huh?’

‘I don’t think I’ve ever seen Piccolo leave. When I made him drop you off properly I assumed he’d just fly away immediately, but waits until I close the door. Every time.’

Gohan shrugged. ‘Maybe he’s being polite?’

Chi-Chi frowned. It was true that Piccolo generally acted politely, but it seemed to be more about uncertainty than manners. Besides, this felt like something else. ‘Maybe he’s lonely,’ she said to herself. 

Gohan gave her a funny look but didn’t say anything else. 

She clapped her hands together. ‘Alright, dinner’s nearly ready. Did you wash your hands?’ she asked.

Gohan held his hands out to show them off. ‘Yeah, of course!’ he said indignantly. 

Chi-Chi smiled and they walked into the dining room. ‘Take a seat, it won’t be long,’ she said, crossing into the kitchen.

///

After dinner, Chi-Chi stopped Gohan before he went upstairs to study. She’d given him a day or so to catch up on his sleep before reintroducing study into his routine. ‘Gohan, I want to discuss your study.’

Gohan shot her a guilty look. ‘It was only because my wrist was sore from training. Usually I can finish it all, I promise! I won’t get up too early anymore.’

Chi-Chi frowned and crouched down to his level. As much as she understood the rigours of proper fighter training, she didn’t like the way Piccolo pushed Gohan so hard. He came back with scrapes and bruises and sometimes things like this injury to his wrist. Then again, she thought back to what Piccolo had said. ‘Do I… do _I_ give you too much work to do?’ she asked.

Gohan looked down at the ground and fidgeted a bit. ‘Um… I don’t know,’ he said.

‘You can tell me anything, you know,’ she said gently. ‘Anything about what you’re thinking or feeling.’

Gohan was silent for another long moment and he still didn’t want to look at her. ‘I don’t want to disappoint you. Or anyone.’ Even though he wasn’t meeting her eyes, he spoke with a strong conviction that didn’t fit his years. She could hear an echo of Goku in his voice and she bit the inside of her cheek to keep the pang of sadness from her expression.

She drew Gohan into a fierce hug. ‘I’m so proud of you and I’d be proud no matter what. You’re my son and nothing will ever change that,’ she said, her own conviction implacable. 

Gohan returned the hug just as hard. ‘Studying is something that goes on for a lifetime,’ Chi-Chi continued. ‘As long as you study hard during the hours you can, it doesn’t matter if you finish all your worksheets or not.’

‘Okay,’ Gohan mumbled into the hug. She gave him one last squeeze before letting him go. He looked up at her again. ‘I do _like_ studying,’ he said. ‘It’s interesting! I just also like fighting too and maybe not studying _all_ the time?’

That was… good. It was good that Gohan liked intellectual pursuits, and if he also had a preoccupation with fighting that wasn’t entirely strange. Considering who his father was. Considering who _she_ was. ‘Well, good. And remember, you can always talk to me.’ She stopped herself from saying that he should have told her sooner that he was struggling with the workload. She was the one who should have noticed. Things had just been so… chaotic, lately. 

‘Okay, I will,’ Gohan said and gave her a bright smile.

///

Piccolo had been pleased during their latest training session. Whatever problems the lack of sleep had caused had vanished quickly and Gohan was back to building up his power and technique. He’d only started losing focus at the very end of the day and he hadn’t even given Piccolo an unhappy look when he found out they’d be flying back. In fact he started talking about training once they were in the air.

Piccolo mostly responded with one-word answers and grunts, but eventually found himself drawn into a conversation about his plans for improving Gohan’s speed over the next few weeks. No matter how strong he was, the kid was still small and focusing on manoeuvrability was important. 

‘Look, any wide-area energy blast is going to require a block unless you’re much faster than your opponent,’ said Piccolo.

‘But if it’s a narrow, concentrated blast it’s probably better to dodge?’ Gohan asked.

Piccolo made an approving noise. The kid was good at the ideas behind fighting. ‘Yes. Especially for you and especially against fighters as powerful as the saiyans.’

They touched down in front of Chi-Chi’s door. Piccolo knocked reluctantly. He wasn’t about to jeopardise his deal with Chi-Chi just because the discussion was getting interesting. He turned his focus back to Gohan. ‘You also have to think about your own energy levels. Dodging at effective speeds is often more energy-draining than setting up a good block and just letting the strike land,’ he said. 

‘You’re right that dodging’s generally more energy-intense, but getting yourself braced in the proper position for a standard block can sometimes be harder if you’re halfway through a strike. In that case, dodging’s better simply because you can move out of the way however you like. There’s more room for creativity,’ said Chi-Chi.

‘Exactly,’ said Piccolo, ‘and if your opponent is expecting some kind of specific move based on your style, it can put them off-balance.’ He blinked and quickly pivoted to face Chi-Chi who merely raised an eyebrow at him. He hadn’t really noticed her opening the door. It had been a good point.

‘You don’t need to look so surprised,’ she said, dryly. ‘I _was_ a fighter, you know.’ 

‘Right,’ he said, glancing between her and Gohan. 

‘But what’s a creative dodge?’ Gohan asked.

Piccolo opened his mouth to reply and then closed it. He glanced at Chi-Chi again before turning slightly to face Gohan again. ‘We can discuss it tomorrow. I’m returning you to your mother now.’

Gohan sighed. ‘Okay.’ 

Piccolo expected Chi-Chi to usher Gohan inside, but instead she said, ‘It seems a shame to cut the conversation short. Would you like to stay for dinner, Piccolo?’

Gohan groaned and buried his face in his hands. ‘Mum–’

‘Yes. Thank you, yes. I’d – like that,’ Piccolo said quickly, trying not to think too hard about it.

Gohan lifted his head to shoot him a dubious look. ‘But you don’t…’ He stopped. ‘Great! I’m glad you want to stay.’

‘Right,’ Chi-Chi said briskly. ‘Gohan, take our guest through to the dining room and then go wash your hands. I’m nearly done with dinner. Please make yourself at home, Piccolo.’

Piccolo followed Gohan deeper into the house, into the same room he’d been in before. The table was bare this time except for some dishes and cutlery. The other exit was just where he remembered it, opposite the one they’d just come through. ‘You can sit here if you like,’ said Gohan, gesturing to one of the chairs. He turned to leave again and paused. ‘I’m glad you’re staying for dinner!’ he said, before rushing out of the room.

‘No running in the house!’ Chi-Chi called out loudly and Piccolo started. Being inside a building was unusual enough to put him on edge. He manoeuvred himself onto the chair. Sitting like this was awkward and strange. He studied his surroundings carefully to give himself something to do. Nothing much had changed. Chi-Chi came in and walked right through the room before disappearing through the second door.

‘I won’t be a minute,’ she called over her shoulder.

Piccolo split his attention between his surrounding and the hissing and clanging noises coming from the room Chi-Chi had disappeared into. Gohan came in a few moments later and sat down too. ‘What’s a creative dodge? What’s the coolest dodge you’ve ever done? Do you have a favourite one?’ Gohan asked all in a rush. 

Piccolo blinked and started to answer when Chi-Chi came back into the dining room, carrying a huge tray loaded with things. 

Gohan’s attention snapped toward the tray and his stomach made a strange sound. Piccolo gave him a dubious look before returning his attention to Chi-Chi. The tray and its contents looked pretty heavy, but she didn’t seem to be having any trouble with it. There were also very interesting scents coming off the tray, not quite like anything Piccolo had encountered before.

She put down the tray and set the things out in front of Piccolo, Gohan and herself. Gohan glanced around the table before picking up a pair of sticks. Chi-Chi picked up her own pair. Gohan used the sticks to take things off his plate and put them in his mouth. Ah, eating. Piccolo held back a grimace and picked up the sticks Chi-Chi had put in front of him. She was also eating, though slower than Gohan was. 

The sticks shifted in his hand and one of them clattered to the table. Chi-Chi gave him an odd look as he picked it back up. Gohan looked like he was supressing laughter. Piccolo watched Gohan’s grip carefully before imitating the position. It took a few moments, but he got it. It was a good focus exercise. 

Chi-Chi cleared her throat and asked Gohan about his favourite style of blocking. Gohan only replied once he’d swallowed his food, which was good. Piccolo kept half his attention on the conversation and the other half on pushing the food around on his plate. His grip on the sticks wasn’t intuitive, but he was getting better at it.

‘Are you… not hungry, Piccolo?’ Chi-Chi asked. 

Piccolo started as his attention was pulled away from his plate. His gaze darted up to meet hers before dropping back to the table. He hadn’t really been thinking about what staying for dinner would entail, and had mostly accepted the invitation for… other reasons. Eating had always seemed vaguely repellent and that hadn’t changed.

‘He doesn’t eat, Mum,’ Gohan said. 

Piccolo carefully kept his embarrassment off his face. Eating may have been disgusting, but the reminder that he was the only one on this planet that seemed to think so wasn’t good either.

Chi-Chi glanced at him. ‘Not at all?’

‘No,’ said Piccolo. ‘I tried eating once. It didn’t end well.’ He put his sticks down and pushed his plate back toward the centre of the table.

‘So what do you live off?’ Chi-Chi asked.

‘Water. Usually water that’s a bit silty. It tastes better.’

Gohan eyed Piccolo’s plate and slowly reached out to grab the edge of it. When no one stopped him, he slowly drew it back toward himself. Chi-Chi was watching Gohan with a faint, almost wistful smile. She turned back to Piccolo abruptly. ‘Do you drink tea?’ Chi-Chi asked.

Piccolo blinked. ‘I’ve… never tried it.’

‘Well, we’ll fix that,’ Chi-Chi said, pushing her chair back from the table.

‘There’s no need to trouble yourself,’ Piccolo said quickly.

‘Nonsense,’ Chi-Chi said in a tone that brooked no argument. ‘You just sit here. I won’t be a moment.’ She got up and strode into the next room. 

Piccolo shifted where he sat and shot a look at Gohan. Gohan shrugged. They sat in silence, listening to the clattering sounds. It wasn’t long before Chi-Chi returned, a pot and cups balanced neatly on a tray. She put the tray down and spread out the contents with quick efficient movements. She poured water from the pot into a cup and put it in front of Piccolo. Then she poured for herself and Gohan.

Piccolo stared down at his cup. The water was an odd colour and there was some debris at the bottom, not unlike what he got out of the best-tasting rivers. Steam rose from the cup and carried a faintly leafy scent toward him. It was not unpleasant. He picked up the cup, cradling between his hands. The heat was nice, reminding him of sun-warmed stone. He took a careful sip. He blinked in surprise and hesitated for a long moment before setting the cup back down, keeping his hands curled around it loosely. It was easily the best thing he’d ever tasted.

The conversation about dodging versus blocking resumed. Piccolo let himself get drawn back into it, though a portion of his attention stayed on the cup between his hands. Gohan had just finished explaining something about mid-air dodging when Chi-Chi turned to him again. ‘Don’t you like it?’ she asked.

Piccolo reflexively drew the cup toward himself, hunching over it slightly. ‘No, it’s very good. I’m savouring it.’ Apart from the taste, the heat of it was also pleasantly unique.

Chi-Chi looked surprised, but then she smiled. It was a warm expression and Piccolo was a little taken aback. ‘There’s more than enough tea for another cup when you’re finished,’ she said.

‘Thank you.’ He hesitated for a moment before taking another sip of his tea. And then another one a few seconds later. He eyed the teapot.

///

Chi-Chi was surprised when Gohan brought his biology textbook down to lunch a few days later. Even though she’d started writing out chemistry worksheets, the biology textbook was clearly his favourite. It was still odd for him to bring it downstairs. He opened it on the table to a place he had carefully bookmarked. Chi-Chi leaned over and caught a look at a detailed description of photosynthesis. 

‘Mum, is Piccolo a plant?’ he asked. 

Chi-Chi blinked. She had her own suspicions about the matter, but she was curious about Gohan’s deductions. ‘What makes you ask?’

‘Well…’ Gohan began slowly, ‘he doesn’t eat, but he does drink. I don’t think he sleeps and, well, he’s green. He needs to get energy from _somewhere_ so maybe he photosynthesises?’ Gohan stumbled a little over the unfamiliar word, but he got it out right.

Chi-Chi hid a smile. ‘Being green could easily be a coincidence. There are photosynthetic plants with different coloured leaves and there are green animals that don’t photosynthesise, but the fact that he doesn’t eat, but does drink, is a very good point.’

Gohan beamed at her. 

‘Do you know if Piccolo gets a lot of sunlight during the day?’ she asked. 

Gohan frowned. ‘I’m… not sure. I know he meditates a lot. Sometimes in the sun.’

Chi-Chi nodded absently. Finding out that Goku was an alien from another planet had been a bit of a shock, but it had shifted her perspective about what was possible. A month or so ago she wouldn’t have even considered asking Piccolo about himself. These days… well, things were different these days. 

‘Did you wash your hands before coming downstairs?’ she asked Gohan.

He heaved an exaggerated sigh. ‘No, Mum.’ He closed his textbook and tucked it under one arm before hurrying upstairs, not _quite_ running.

Chi-Chi smiled to herself and shifted a couple of the dishes so they’d be more easily reachable by Gohan when he sat down.

///

‘Bye, Piccolo!’ Gohan said with a grin, heading upstairs and leaving Chi-Chi at the door with Piccolo. He looked less wary than usual. His arms weren’t even folded for once. She thought about her earlier conversation with Gohan. Maybe it wasn’t the most polite thing to discuss, but she was very curious and there was a chance that Piccolo might tell her.

‘Piccolo, I was wondering if I could ask you a personal question?’

Piccolo gave her a long look. ‘…Sure.’

‘Are you photosynthetic?’

He blinked at her and folded his arms. So much for that. ‘What do you mean?’

‘Well, it’s only that you don’t eat, but you clearly get your energy from _somewhere_ , you’re a powerful fighter, after all. So unless you have some sort of eating-analogue, I wondered if you photosynthesised,’ she asked, speaking just a little faster than usual.

Piccolo made an irritated noise low in his throat. ‘What’s “photosynthesised”?’

‘Oh. Photosynthesis is a process that converts air and sunlight into energy in the presence of water.’ She decided not to go into the details of carbon dioxide and its conversion to glucose. If Piccolo didn’t know what photosynthesis was, a more technical explanation wouldn’t be useful.

Piccolo blinked again. ‘You’re asking if I get my energy from the sun? It comes from my ki, same as any other fighter.’

Chi-Chi opened her mouth to reply and then shut it again. It hadn’t quite occurred to her that Piccolo might not know _anything_ about why people ate and therefore might not realise that his body needed energy besides just drawing on ki. She chose her next words carefully. ‘Alright, but if you enjoy sitting in the sun, you should do it more often. And that’s direct sun without shade and it might help if you did it without your,’ she gestured at him vaguely, ‘hat and cape.’

Piccolo narrowed his eyes. ‘…Okay.’

‘Just… see if it makes you stronger. It could be interesting.’

He nodded at her, still giving her a slightly wary look. 

‘Oh, one last thing,’ she said. There was one question she’d been idly considering for some time now and if she was _already_ asking invasive questions…

‘Yes?’ Piccolo prompted.

‘If you don’t eat, why do you have fangs?’

Piccolo stared at her for a long moment. Then he shifted his stance. ‘I have to go,’ he said and took off. Chi-Chi hoped she hadn’t offended him.

///

Piccolo floated high above the forest and stared in the direction of Chi-Chi’s house. Occasionally he’d lift a hand and prod at his fangs before he realised what he was doing and forced himself to stop. He didn’t know who he’d been – who _King Piccolo_ had been – before he’d split off from Kami. That person was dead and now there was just Kami. And him.

King Piccolo had supposedly been the ‘evil’ part of that dead being. And Piccolo was the... clone? child? reincarnation? – of King Piccolo. He growled to himself. He didn’t like not knowing what was him and what came from his… progenitor. He especially didn’t like thinking about Kami’s existence and what that meant for him.

Piccolo found himself touching his fangs again and dropped his hand. Why _did_ he have them? He’d seen dinosaurs using them to tear up meat or leaves when they ate, disgusting as it was. Sharp fangs meant meat-eater, meant predator, meant dangerous. Piccolo had never minded looking threatening. It was useful more often than not and he _was_ dangerous. With Goku dead, he was probably the strongest fighter on this planet, give or take Gohan when he was a giant rampaging monkey.

On the other hand, Piccolo couldn’t help but wonder if it was _just him_. He’d never met anyone like himself. There was only Kami. Was there more than one of them? Or would Piccolo never recognise them because someone who was the same thing as him _wouldn’t have fangs because they weren’t made out of evil?_ Piccolo turned away from Gohan’s house and faced the only direction that would get him answers. He _hated_ doing it, but there was one place where he could find out if it was just him or not.

///

Kami sensed Piccolo’s approach long before he reached the Lookout. The intensity of his emotions was stronger than usual, but Kami couldn’t read anything useful. He turned to face Piccolo as he approached and hoped this wouldn’t end in combat.

‘Say something, old man,’ Piccolo demanded in lieu of a greeting. He was scrutinising Kami with a disconcerting level of focus.

Kami narrowed his eyes. ‘What is this about?’

Piccolo grunted and some of the tension in him eased. ‘Nothing. I’m going.’

‘Piccolo, wait,’ said Kami.

Piccolo stopped, but he didn’t turn around. ‘What.’

Kami sighed. ‘I think you’re changing. I can sense it. You’re not as angry and unhappy as you used to be. Not as hateful. I’m… glad for you.’

Piccolo turned around. ‘I don’t want to hear this. Least of all from _you_.’

Kami stood his ground. ‘I mean it. King Piccolo and I… well. I don’t regret the choice, but I will concede that neither of us emerged from it unscathed. He and I were never complete individuals. But you’re not him. You came from him, yes, but I’m sure you can move beyond that. In a way, perhaps, that neither of us ever could.’

Piccolo’s fists clenched at his sides. The glimpses of emotion that Kami sensed from him were complicated. They always were with Piccolo these days. ‘I don’t have time for your ramblings. Leave me alone,’ he snapped.

‘As you wish. Give my regards to Gohan and Mrs Son.’

Piccolo’s eyes widened, but he quickly got his expression under control. He turned around pointedly, growling under his breath, but he didn’t retort. 

Once he was out of sight Kami sighed and shook his head. Mr Popo appeared at his elbow. ‘What did Piccolo want?’ he asked.

‘I’m not entirely sure,’ Kami admitted, ‘but whatever he wanted I hope he found it.’

///

Chi-Chi watched Gohan disappear upstairs before turning her attention back to Piccolo. He looked more agitated than usual. 

‘We need to talk,’ he said. 

Chi-Chi narrowed her eyes at him. ‘About what?’ she asked.

‘I want to take Gohan into the wilderness for a couple of days. There’s some endurance training that I can’t fit into one morning.’

‘Absolutely not,’ Chi-Chi said, folding her arms. ‘Where will he sleep? What will he eat?’ she demanded. 

Piccolo made a frustrated noise. ‘That’s kind of the point.’

‘Well I forbid it.’

He glared at her and seemed to consider his options. After a moment he gave her a look that he probably thought was subtle and cunning. ‘What about a trade? Maybe you could do some endurance studying. Keep Gohan for a full couple of days. The same amount of time as I keep him in the wilderness.’

Chi-Chi rolled her eyes. The offer made no sense whatsoever and she was pretty sure Piccolo didn’t actually know what studying entailed. ‘That’s a completely ludicrous –’ she paused as something occurred to her. ‘Actually, that’s not a bad idea.’

Piccolo smirked. It was almost cute how pleased he looked at having negotiated. 

Gohan had been getting far enough into his algebra that he was about to get up to the calculus textbook. Chi-Chi knew calculus was important advanced mathematics, but that was about all she knew on the topic. Her own education hadn’t gotten that far. In fact, the only person she knew who’d be able to teach Gohan was Goku’s engineer friend. She and Bulma had exchanged a few words here and there, but they weren’t really close. She’d been looking for an excuse to contact her and see if she’d be willing to maybe teach Gohan a thing or two about engineering and higher maths. It would be much easier to arrange a study time if she didn’t have to worry about Piccolo interrupting halfway through to demand Gohan’s time.

‘Alright, you can have Gohan in the wilderness for two full days and nights and in exchange I get six full days with him, without you interrupting.’ She held up her hand as Piccolo opened his mouth to speak. ‘ _However_ , on those days you can have him for an hour after dinner for training.’

Piccolo waited for a moment before speaking. ‘Three full days and nights in the wilderness with Gohan. Three full days and nights for Gohan to study. That makes more sense as an exchange.’

‘But it’s not the exchange I want to make. If you give me the day and accept an hour in the evening then it will interrupt the training less.’

Piccolo looked thoughtful and mulled it over in silence. It was such a pleasant surprise to see a fighter using his head for once. ‘Three days and nights in the wilderness. Six days where I get him for _two_ hours in the evening after dinner. And you can spend those days whenever you want, they don’t have to be consecutive.’ He looked pleased with himself again.

Chi-Chi rubbed her chin and hummed. ‘The same deal, but I get to pack him a full lunch for the first day in the wilderness.’

Piccolo grimaced at the mention of food, but he nodded. ‘It’s a deal.’ He bared his teeth in a quick smile, the light from the house glinting off them for a moment. Chi-Chi blinked. Piccolo looked thoughtful again and studied her with his head tilted down, just slightly. Then he held out his hand.

Chi-Chi didn’t hesitate before placing her hand in his. She squeezed firmly and they shook. Piccolo stared at their handshake curiously and his fingertips brushed against hers as he withdrew his hand.

‘Goodbye, Mrs Son,’ he said.

Chi-Chi hesitated for the briefest second. ‘You can call me Chi-Chi, if you’d like.’

He blinked. Then he cleared his throat. ‘Alright. Goodbye, Chi-Chi,’ he said.

‘Goodbye, Piccolo,’ she replied and shut the door quietly behind her. She faced the hallway and let out a long breath, brushing her hands down her skirt to settle it. It was time to add the final touches to dinner. Gohan was probably waiting in the dining room, staring at the kitchen door. She smiled to herself and walked sedately through the lounge room.

///

Chi-Chi held the phone to her ear and practiced what she wanted to say in her head. 

The ringing stopped and a bright voice said, ‘Hello?’

‘Hi,’ said Chi-Chi. ‘This is Chi-Chi Son and I was wondering if I could speak to Bulma?’

‘Oh. Yeah, speaking,’ said Bulma. ‘How are you doing?’

Chi-Chi had a bizarre desire to laugh, but she didn’t think it would come out as a happy sound. ‘Well. I’m… well. And you?’

‘Good, good. So what are you calling about?’

‘I’m calling about Gohan, actually.’

There was a pause at the other end of the line. ‘…Yeah?’ said Bulma.

‘I think you’ve met?’

‘Oh, yeah I remember him, cute kid,’ said Bulma.

‘Yes, he is,’ Chi-Chi said, some warmth automatically seeping into her tone. ‘He’s also very smart and I’m getting to the end of what I can teach him myself.’ Chi-Chi gave herself a mental kick. She was going to ease into this instead of springing it on Bulma so suddenly.

‘Huh, Goku’s kid, really?’ said Bulma absently. Chi-Chi wished she could summon up some indignation at that, but she could guess what Bulma’s train of thought was and she wasn’t wrong. Goku wasn’t the most… academically gifted person in the world. ‘You’re home-schooling him, right?’

‘Yes, that’s right.’ 

‘He’s, what, about five now?’

‘About that.’

There was a pause on the line. ‘Uh…’ said Bulma, ‘What exactly do you want me to teach him?’

Chi-Chi gave a cool smile, despite the fact that no one could see her. ‘Calculus. He’s just finished a whole unit of algebra.’ She hesitated, choosing her next words with care. ‘And I… I’m not really _qualified_ to put together calculus worksheets and make sure he’s getting the right answers.’ 

‘Whoa, are you serious? Goku’s five year-old has been doing _algebra_?’ 

Bulma sounded suitably impressed and Chi-Chi was glad that she either hadn’t noticed or didn’t care that algebra was about as far as Chi-Chi’s knowledge of maths went. ‘So what, some basic polynomials to start off with, moving into graphing and I suppose differentiation eventually? I was about there around age four, but they say girls mature faster than boys.’ It sounded like this part was mostly Bulma talking to herself, which was good because Chi-Chi wasn’t exactly following it all.

‘That sounds wonderful,’ Chi-Chi said firmly.

‘Huh? Right,’ said Bulma. ‘Okay, tell you what, if Gohan’s this smart it will be pretty fun to teach him stuff. I’ve never designed a curriculum before. When do you want me to pick him up?’

‘Oh, uh, next week? In the morning some time? Whatever day suits you.’ Piccolo would be taking Gohan out for three days this week and Chi-Chi wanted to make sure her son had time to recover from whatever training exercises Piccolo would be subjecting him to. It wasn’t that she thought Piccolo would let him get badly hurt, but Chi-Chi knew firsthand what intensive training could do to someone, especially when they were young. 

‘Hm, okay, let me see… how about Wednesday next week?’

Chi-Chi smiled. ‘Wednesday would work great. Shall I see you around ten or so?’

‘Sounds great!’ Bulma paused for a moment. ‘Oh, and Chi-Chi, it will be… it will good to get to know Gohan better. Considering, well, everything.’

Chi-Chi’s smile faded slightly. She could hear exactly what Bulma wasn’t saying. Goku was her friend too, after all. ‘Yes, I’m… glad you feel that way.’

‘Bye, Chi-Chi.’

‘Goodbye, Bulma. See you Wednesday.’

///

Piccolo’s eyes widened as Gohan’s fist slammed into his jaw. The strike had come too fast to block after he’d fallen for the energy-blast feint. Gohan didn’t hesitate and went in for a mid-kick. The kid was getting good enough to put real power behind the move, even in mid-air. Piccolo barely dodged it and had to flip around to keep out of range. 

He shot a blast at Gohan to give himself time to think. Gohan blocked, letting the energy wash over him and charged forward through the cloud. Piccolo managed to land two hard strikes, but it wasn’t enough to slow Gohan down. They traded strikes and blocks, reorienting in the air from upright to upside-down, each looking for weaknesses, and waiting for the right moment. 

Then Piccolo dodged back and put some real power into his next blast. Gohan moved to block and Piccolo smiled grimly. Kid should have dodged. The blast slammed into Gohan. He hung suspended for a second before he crashed back into the ground, but Piccolo was still shocked that Gohan had managed to stay up through the blast.

Piccolo floated down until he landed beside Gohan’s prone form. ‘Not bad. The feint was convincing.’

Gohan smiled up at him, looking a little vague. ‘Yeah? I hit you, didn’t I?’

‘You did. Then you blocked a blast you should have avoided.’ 

‘Oh,’ said Gohan.

Piccolo offered Gohan a hand and pulled him to his feet. ‘One more round and we break for the evening. Then you can go scavenge some food.’

Gohan’s stomach made a growling sound and he laughed ruefully. ‘Any chance of dinner first?’ he asked. 

‘No.’

‘Okay.’ Gohan sighed and slipped into a fighting stance. ‘In the air or on the ground?’

‘You pick,’ said Piccolo after a moment.

Gohan shot into the air with another laugh and Piccolo had to leap to the side to avoid Gohan’s energy blast. ‘In the air!’ Gohan called.

Piccolo growled to himself, but couldn’t help the smile that tugged at one corner of his mouth. ‘You’re going to regret that!’ he called back as he took off after Gohan.

///

Chi-Chi picked up a damp sheet and threw it over the clothesline. She pegged it in place and turned back to the basket to grab the last couple of items. After Bulma had picked Gohan up, Chi-Chi had had a very productive morning. Not cooking a large lunch had left a bit of a gap in her routine and she’d found a lot of things to do. The house had felt oddly quiet, even though Gohan’s usual study was hardly a loud activity.

Chi-Chi picked up the empty washing basket. As she crossed the garden, something made her look out across the clearing. Piccolo landed between her and the front door. Chi-Chi’s grip tightened on the basket. ‘Piccolo? I hope you’re not trying to go back on our deal. Gohan’s not even here.’ 

His expression was tight as he glanced at the house and then back at her. ‘No. I… forgot.’

She revaluated, deciding he looked more embarrassed than annoyed. Some of the tension between her shoulder blades eased. ‘Oh, well I suppose that makes sense. You have been coming here everyday for… more than a few months now.’ Chi-Chi blinked. It was hard to believe so much time had passed.

Piccolo grunted. ‘Yes. Sorry to have disturbed you, Chi-Chi.’ He turned to go. 

‘Wait, would you like to come in for tea?’ Chi-Chi asked. Perhaps it wasn’t the best idea, but the house felt empty without Gohan around and Chi-Chi found herself wanting company.

The startled look that flashed across Piccolo’s face in response made Chi-Chi decide the invitation had been a good idea after all. ‘Thank you, I’d like to,’ he said after a moment of silence.

Chi-Chi nodded to herself and went over to the front door. ‘Come on in,’ she said as she opened the door. Piccolo trailed after her toward the dining room. She left the empty laundry basket on the floor of the main room to retrieve later. ‘Take a seat, I’ll be with you in a moment,’ she said and made her way to the kitchen.

Chi-Chi got out the household’s nicest tea set and gave it a quick wipe. She didn’t drink a lot of tea and only had the same blend she’d offered Piccolo last time, but she was pretty sure he wouldn’t mind. When the water had boiled, she steeped the tea for a few minutes then loaded up a tray and took it through to the dining room. 

Piccolo was sitting very straight and very still in his chair. His gaze went from her to the tea set and then back up to her as she poured. He accepted the teacup she offered graciously, holding it and inhaling the steam while she poured a cup for herself. It would have been rude not to join him.

She sipped at her tea and thought about how she’d ended up here. There was a lot to think about. The silence stretched between them before Chi-Chi spoke. ‘Do you think the saiyans can be beaten? That you and Gohan and all of Earth’s fighters will be strong enough?’ She stared down at the tealeaves in the bottom of her cup as she spoke. 

Chi-Chi was half-expecting him to say something about teamwork or trying hard. Instead, Piccolo was silent for a long moment before he replied. ‘We’d better be,’ he said grimly, but there was no fear in voice.

Chi-Chi felt herself relax. Working hard was the best way she had to distract herself from disasters, but she valued people who didn’t let things get to them at all. Goku was always cheerful, no matter what kind of catastrophe loomed on the horizon. Of all the ways she could have described Piccolo, cheerful wasn’t one of them, but he was calm, even in the face of the impending invasion. It was… nice. Reassuring. ‘How’s Gohan’s training coming along?’ she asked.

The corner of Piccolo’s mouth lifted, baring one of his fangs. It was subtle half-smile and it was gone as quickly as it appeared. ‘He’s doing well. He’s got a lot of power, especially for his age. At this point I actually have to try when we spar. Give it a few years, if his progress holds, and he’ll probably outstrip me.’

‘What, _really_?’ Chi-Chi knew Gohan was strong or Piccolo wouldn’t have been bothering with any of this, but to be at that level was extraordinary. 

‘Oh yes. Maybe not far beyond me, but he’ll get there.’ Piccolo sounded proud and Chi-Chi didn’t know what to say to that. Piccolo glanced up at her from his cup. ‘Where is he, anyway?’ 

‘He’s with Bulma. She knows… a lot about studying,’ said Chi-Chi. She didn’t feel the least bit concerned about sharing the information with Piccolo. He would keep their deal, she was certain.

Piccolo grunted. ‘Makes sense.’ He paused again, looking down at his tea. ‘I tried your suggestion,’ he said haltingly. ‘Meditating directly in the sun. I think it does work.’

Chi-Chi leaned forward. ‘Does it make you feel stronger?’ she asked.

‘Sort of. It doesn’t increase my power level, but I’m less tired after sparring and recover quicker. It’s hard to describe.’

Chi-Chi was pleased to have some confirmation. ‘That’s what eating does for humans. And saiyans, I suppose,’ she added.

Piccolo’s brow creased. ‘I see.’ He took another sip of his tea, looking thoughtful. ‘Anyway, I wanted to say thank you. It was helpful advice.’

Chi-Chi smiled at him. ‘I’m glad.’


	3. Chapter 3

Bulma started when the clock chimed. ‘Five o’clock? When did that happen?’ she said. 

Gohan grinned at her. ‘During those last few hours, I think.’

She gave him an exasperated smile and put down her pen. ‘Okay, that’s not the best place to stop, but are the graphs starting to make sense?’

Gohan stared down at the pages of scrap paper they’d both been scribbling on. Bulma liked explaining stuff and she drew a lot while she talked. Mostly she wrote equations and sketched graphs, but there were a lot of things that had been circled and linked to other stuff with arrows. Gohan had decided he liked calculus about an hour in. It was way cooler than plain algebra and Bulma was really good at answering questions. She was _so_ much better than a textbook.

‘I _think_ so,’ he said. 

Bulma got up and stretched out her back. ‘Good.’ She glanced ruefully at the dozen pages of sketches and working out. ‘You can take those with you when I take you home, if you want,’ she said.

Gohan scooped them all up immediately and hugged them to his chest. ‘Thanks!’

Gohan liked flying in Bulma’s Capsule Corp helicopter. It was really different than flying himself and he mostly spent the trip with his face pressed up against the window. Bulma said she didn’t mind. They touched down gently a bit away from the garden and walked to the front door.

Bulma knocked on the door and smiled when Mum opened it. ‘Hi, Chi-Chi.’ 

‘Hi, Bulma. How did it go?’ his mum asked.

‘Hi, Mum!’ 

‘Hello, Gohan.’ 

‘Gohan was great,’ said Bulma and Gohan stood up straighter. 

‘Oh, good,’ said Chi-Chi. 

‘No, seriously great. I didn’t have much of an idea of how to actually sit down and teach someone calculus, but I started explaining and he started asking really smart questions and when I looked up again it was five.’ 

His mum gave him a warm smile and Gohan smiled back. She turned back to Bulma. ‘Well thank you so much for your help.’ 

‘I’m… not sure exactly how much calculus we got through,’ Bulma admitted. ‘We got distracted by trigonometry halfway through and later did a brief tour through long division. It’s been _years_ since I thought about long division.’ 

‘I’m sure it was very educational,’ said Chi-Chi. 

‘I’ll say. Hey listen, would you mind if we did this again some time? There’s _a lot_ of ground to cover. I mean, if you’d be interested, Gohan,’ she added, turning to him.

‘Yeah! That would be great!’ said Gohan. There was so much to learn about calculus and he and Bulma _had_ gotten kind of distracted a couple of times. Five or six times. 

‘That would be wonderful,’ said Chi-Chi. ‘Let me think.’ She twitched her fingers that way she did when she was counting something, but Gohan didn’t think Bulma noticed. ‘Alright, that could work. When are you free?’

‘Tomorrow, if that’s convenient for you. If not, then Tuesday next week. Or next Friday.’

Chi-Chi nodded. ‘Can I get back to you about next week?’

‘Sure.’ She smiled and then looked down at Gohan and ruffled his hair. ‘Bye, Gohan. Have another look over those... uh, worksheets, and I can answer any new questions next time.’

Gohan batted her hand away. ‘Okay! Bye Bulma.’

///

This time Piccolo remembered that today was a designated study day. Four down, two to go and then there would be no more interruptions to Gohan’s training schedule. It had been worth it. The solid days of wilderness training had consolidated a lot of their latest techniques and it was good to see that Gohan hadn’t lost his ability to look after himself out there. He was still just as attuned to his surroundings when it came to avoiding the large predators and noticing smaller prey. Not that the large predators gave him any trouble these days.

Even if it had been worth it, it didn’t mean that Piccolo wasn’t bored. It would be hours before nightfall came and he could pick up Gohan for a short after-dinner training session. He also spent less time meditating now that he felt energised after only a few hours in strong sunlight. He told himself that flying around the forests where he and Gohan trained, the ones close to Chi-Chi’s house, was just to burn off his restlessness. 

It was around midmorning when Piccolo felt a flicker of power off to his right. He flew toward it, curious, and arrived just in time to see Chi-Chi drop several bags and settle into a fighting stance. Facing off against her were a pair of the large carnivorous dinosaurs that were common in the area. Piccolo didn’t even think, he just flew forward to help. Then Chi-Chi sprang at the first dinosaur and Piccolo stopped abruptly in mid-air. 

He watched open-mouthed as Chi-Chi grabbed one of the dinosaurs by the tail and _threw_ it bodily into the second one. The first one gave a pained roar and the second one thrashed, pulling itself upright to charge at Chi-Chi. She gave her own shout and met the charge head on, leaping up to deliver a powerful kick to the underside of its jaw. It crashed back, falling hard against the dirt. It didn’t get up. Piccolo wondered if its neck had snapped with the force of Chi-Chi’s kick or if it was just stunned. The other dinosaur had the sense to run.

Chi-Chi went over to the fallen dinosaur and stood by its snout for a moment. Then she put her hands on hips and looked at her spilled bags. Piccolo was still trying to process what he’d just seen. It had taken seconds and he wouldn’t have arrived in time to help, even if it had been necessary. He vaguely remembered that Chi-Chi had been a fighter, but the only time he’d seen it had been when she’d been fighting Goku in the World Tournament. Back then, he’d only been watching his fated opponent and had barely registered anyone else. 

Piccolo hesitated, but after a moment he flew toward Chi-Chi. Now the only thing he had to remember was how to look non-threatening when he landed, in case Chi-Chi was still inclined to fight. It wasn’t that she would have been able to defeat him. Even at her surprising power level she was no match for someone like him, but he really wasn’t keen to fight her. For a lot of reasons.

///

Chi-Chi dusted her hands off and resisted the impulse to kick the stunned dinosaur. They hadn’t been malicious opponents, just a couple of animals that didn’t know any better. A part of her still wanted to. The fight had renewed some old instincts that she thought she’d forgotten. And besides, they’d made her spill her groceries. 

She muttered under her breath as she knelt to collect the scattered food items. If those eggs were damaged she _would_ kick that T-rex in the nose. Then something made her straighten up, and she fell into a fighting stance before registering what had changed. Piccolo landed a few steps away, carefully settling his weight in an unbalanced, non-hostile way. 

Chi-Chi slowly lowered her hands. ‘Oh, hello Piccolo,’ she said, just a little wary.

‘Hi. I saw your fight. I would have intervened, but you’d wrapped it up by the time I could get here.’ He shrugged.

Chi-Chi snorted. ‘It was a couple of dinosaurs. You’d hardly need to intervene for something like that.’

Piccolo nodded slowly, his expression thoughtful. ‘Would you like some help with your,’ he gestured at the scattered groceries, ‘things?’

Chi-Chi blinked. ‘Yes! Um, thank you.’

Piccolo knelt with her to gather the fallen items. There wasn’t much to clear up, and thankfully nothing appeared broken. Piccolo stood, his gaze searching the forest rather than meeting her eyes. It didn’t look like he was about to leave until she did. Chi-Chi made a quick decision. ‘If you wanted, you could carry these back to the house with me and have a cup of tea.’

The corner of Piccolo’s mouth twitched up. ‘Alright.’

He bent to retrieve one of the bags, but Chi-Chi snatched it up before he could. ‘Not this one! How about those?’ she said brightly.

Piccolo gave her an odd look, but followed her suggestion. Chi-Chi picked up another bag to make it less obvious that she was safeguarding one bag in particular. It wasn’t that she was embarrassed, just… circumspect.

The walk back was uneventful and if Piccolo gave any indication that he’d rather be flying, Chi-Chi didn’t pick it up. When they reached the house, she took him through to the kitchen to drop off the bags. Piccolo stared around the new room with interest. He seemed particularly surprised by the knives. Chi-Chi shooed him out again. ‘Take a seat in the dining room, I’ll be done soon.’

He nodded and left. Chi-Chi jammed the perishables into the fridge. Then she unpacked the tea from the bag she’d hastily shoved into a corner. Perhaps it had been silly picking up a dozen different types. She wasn’t much of a tea-drinker and had mostly been guessing about what blends were good. What flavours Piccolo might like. She sighed to herself as she repurposed one of the kitchen drawers as a tea drawer and lingered over making a decision. In the end, she selected a jasmine tea. It was a classic blend. Probably safe. 

Piccolo was watching her closely when she brought out the tea-tray. She poured for them both and he thanked her when she passed him a cup. He held it delicately and inhaled the steam the way he usually did. He paused, his gaze flicked up to her and then back down to the cup. He took a small sip and paused again. ‘It’s different,’ he said after a moment.

Chi-Chi found her pulse had picked up, which was also silly. ‘Do you like it?’ she asked, just a little too casually.

Piccolo blinked and took another sip. ‘Yes. It’s more, hn. Floral, I suppose. I like the other one too, but this is… a nice change.’

‘It’s a jasmine tea,’ Chi-Chi told him. She found herself smiling into her cup. She couldn’t remember the last time Go – _anyone_ had noticed her making a new dish or trying out a new spice. It was nice to have something like that acknowledged, even if it was something minor. 

‘Jasmine tea,’ Piccolo repeated thoughtfully. ‘And the other one?’

‘It was just a green tea,’ said Chi-Chi, trying to remember if the box had had any more information than that. 

Piccolo nodded and took another sip of his tea. The way his gaze kept sliding back to the teapot wasn’t particularly subtle.

///

Gohan shouted as he released a blast of energy into the mountainside. Dirt and rock fountained up before raining down to the ground. He turned to face Piccolo, panting. ‘How was that?’

Piccolo grunted. ‘The power was fine, the stance was good, but you lack control. I want you to try blasting with a narrow focus. Have it hit a space about this big.’ Piccolo held his hands apart, loosely describing a circle. ‘Not half the mountainside.’

Gohan gave a sharp nod. ‘Right.’ He took a couple of deep breaths to centre himself, before facing the mountain again. His blasting stance was the same one Piccolo used, with his hands outstretched and overlapping. It felt comfortable these days. Gohan tried to make his blast more concentrated, his face screwing up with the effort of controlling it. The blast hit an area about three times larger than Piccolo had told him to, but it was closer than the first one.

‘You still don’t have the control to be blasting in a concentrated way with that much power. Try using less,’ Piccolo said.

‘You want me to use _less_ power?’ Gohan asked, shooting him a sceptical look.

Piccolo scowled at him. ‘Stop stalling and do what I say.’

Gohan sighed and faced the mountain again. This time he used about a third of the power of his last two strikes. The blast was more concentrated. Gohan stared at the crater he’d made for a long moment. ‘Huh,’ he said.

‘Get the shape and size of the blast right first. Then you can pour more power into it. After that it becomes instinctive, getting the effect you want.’

Gohan nodded slowly. ‘You’re good at talking stuff through.’

‘No I’m not.’

Gohan tore his eyes away from the mountain and grinned at Piccolo. ‘Yes you are! Like, you explain stuff really well.’

Piccolo frowned. ‘I’m good at fighting and training, not talking. Talking’s… difficult.’

‘But you talk to me all the time about how to get better.’

Piccolo snorted. ‘That’s talking about training. Training’s easy to talk about.’ His voice trailed off and his expression went thoughtful for a moment. ‘Thanks, Gohan,’ he said after a long moment.

‘You’re welcome!’ said Gohan automatically. Then he frowned. Piccolo didn’t really say thank you much and Gohan hadn’t even _done_ anything. ‘Uh…’

Piccolo spoke over the top of him. ‘I want more blasts from you, hitting the same area. Escalate the power you’re using, but only as much as you can control. I want you to find the point where you lose control.’

Gohan blinked, but turned back to face the mountain. ‘Okay,’ he said resolutely, shifting his stance. 

///

‘And that’s why bugs can’t get giant. Not enough support from an exoskeleton and too much pressure on their breathing system. If you get that big, you just need lungs,’ said Bulma.

‘Cool,’ said Gohan in an awed voice, looking down at the sketches. 

Bulma blinked down at the pages of rough notes. ‘How did we even get on to this topic again?’

‘Uh… polynomial graphs, to sine wave graphs, to modelling insect wings in flight, to bugs, to _giant_ bugs,’ Gohan said as he flipped through the earlier pages.

‘Right,’ said Bulma. She glanced at the clock, it was just about time to go and she and Gohan had barely scratched the surface of the calculus she’d wanted to take him through today. 

‘Say, Gohan?’

‘Yeah?’

‘Do you think your mum would be okay with having you hang out for study on a regular basis? Like fortnightly? Maybe even weekly?’ Bulma asked. She had never expected to enjoy teaching so much, but Gohan was a sharp kid and having to explain answers to someone _without_ all her background knowledge forced her to think about the knowledge itself. Since starting this whole thing, she’d made substantially more progress on a couple of her programing projects. 

Gohan’s expression lit up. ‘That would be great!’ His grin slowly faded. ‘Uh, but maybe not? I’m kind of busy.’

‘Doing what?’ Bulma asked.

Gohan’s expression went noticeably shifty. ‘Um…’ He looked up at the clock. ‘Isn’t it time to go?’ he asked

Bulma gave him an unimpressed look, but she humoured him and decided not to push.

The trip in her helicopter was as uneventful as usual and Bulma spent the time thinking about how to bring the topic up with Chi-Chi. The door opened when Bulma knocked on it.

‘Hi Bulma, how was he?’ asked Chi-Chi.

‘Great, fine. I was wondering if we could make some sort of regular study session. Maybe fortnightly?’ Bulma said, cutting to the chase. Chi-Chi never seemed bothered by her bluntness and it was a relief not to have to dance around conversation topics.

Chi-Chi’s face went through a very similar series of expressions to Gohan’s, except quicker. ‘I’d love to set up something like that, but… Gohan’s…ah…’

‘He’s busy, huh?’ said Bulma. ‘At least that’s what he told me. What’s the big secret?’

Chi-Chi bit her lip. A moment later she straightened up and tilted her chin, very slightly. ‘Gohan’s been training. With Piccolo. I might be able to arrange a few more study sessions, but it will mean negotiating for time.’

Bulma stared at Chi-Chi. ‘I thought… I mean I assumed when you rang that, I don’t know, Piccolo had gotten bored or something. He didn’t strike me as the type of person to spend so much time with a kid. Or… anyone. He’s really been training Gohan all this time? And what, you’ve got some sort of _timeshare_ arrangement with him?’

‘Something like that,’ Chi-Chi said. Her expression was a little rueful and almost… fond. ‘I’ll see what I can do. You’ve been such a good influence in Gohan’s life. He’s more enthusiastic about studying than I’ve ever seen him before. I think he reads ahead sometimes, just to find interesting things to ask you about.’

‘Oh.’ Bulma smiled, more pleased than she would’ve expected, hearing that. 

‘I’ll talk with Piccolo and try to work something out.’

‘Uh, yeah,’ Bulma said, still a little disconcerted by the idea of anyone negotiating with Piccolo. Chi-Chi must be made of some pretty stern stuff. Gohan too, for that matter.

///

Gohan turned to look up at the stars. It had been a long day, but studying with Bulma didn’t tire him out in quite the same way training did. It had even been kind of nice to move around so much during these last two hours. Piccolo walked over to stand at his shoulder. 

‘They’re coming, aren’t they? The saiyans. They’ll be here soon,’ said Gohan, still staring up at the sky. The stars glimmered but looked kind of like unfriendly eyes, watching.

‘Yes,’ said Piccolo.

Gohan fidgeted where he stood. ‘And Dad will back, won’t he?’

‘Yes,’ Piccolo repeated, though there was an odd note in his voice.

‘Will it be okay?’ Gohan blurted. That was really the sort of question Mum was better at answering.

Piccolo sighed. ‘If it isn’t okay, we won’t be around to notice.’

‘Oh.’

‘Look, Gohan. You’re strong, and at your best you’re close to the level I was when we faced the first one. I’m also much stronger now, and Goku has an annoying habit of managing to pull himself from the brink of defeat with what can only be sheer willpower. His little friends will probably be there too, knowing you hero types.’

‘If you’re fighting the saiyans, you’ll be a hero too! You’ll be saving the world.’

Piccolo grunted. ‘It’s getting late. We’re heading back.’

‘Okay.’ Gohan tore his gaze away from the sky and looked up at Piccolo. ‘I think we can save the Earth. The good guys always win,’ he said firmly.

///

Piccolo knocked at the door to Chi-Chi’s house. Beside him, Gohan was making an effort to stand up straight, but Piccolo knew how slow he’d been during their last sparring session of the day. Piccolo turned his attention back to the door when Chi-Chi opened it. 

She smiled at both Gohan and him. ‘Alright Gohan, go and wash your hands, dinner will be ready soon.’

‘Okay, Mum,’ said Gohan as he made his way inside and up the stairs. 

Chi-Chi leaned against the doorframe and folded her arms, mirroring Piccolo’s stance. ‘There’s something I want to discuss with you.’

‘Alright. There was something I wanted to discuss too,’ he said. He decided this was going well. 

Chi-Chi raised an eyebrow at him. ‘…Sure. Me first.’ Piccolo nodded his assent. Chi-Chi let out a long breath. ‘I want to have Gohan for one study day a fortnight. I’m willing to trade extra training time for you and him. It seemed to work well for both of us last time.’

The corner of Piccolo’s lip lifted briefly. ‘That suits me. So what, a full day of wilderness training, once a fortnight, for a full day of study? I also want those two hours in the evening with Gohan on the study days.’

‘That could work,’ Chi-Chi said, obviously surprised. ‘As long as he gets to have a big breakfast on those days before he goes with you. And he should sleep here, and not outside,’ she added hastily. 

Piccolo nodded. He knew how sleep helped Gohan with his focus. ‘And would Gohan be away learning with the study master on those days?’ he asked.

Chi-Chi blinked. ‘Study master? You mean Bulma? Well, yes.’ 

‘Good.’ Here Piccolo hesitated. ‘This is what I wanted to talk to you about.’

‘Yes?’

He made low noise in his throat, trying to find the right words. ‘While Gohan’s studying would you like to learn to fly?’ Chi-Chi gave him a look. ‘You’ve got the power level for it,’ he ploughed on. ‘I sensed it when you were fighting those dinosaurs. It’s really just a matter of channelling your ki properly. A handful of days should be long enough to learn. Then you wouldn’t have to walk with lots of bags.’ He stopped himself from saying anything more. Chi-Chi was still just _looking_ at him. ‘If you wanted,’ he added in a mutter.

Chi-Chi opened her mouth to reply and then closed it again. ‘You could teach me to fly?’ she finally asked.

‘I taught Gohan,’ Piccolo said. He was confident of his ability to train, especially someone already at Chi-Chi’s level.

‘I’d. That would be wonderful. Thank you.’ Chi-Chi’s eyes shone.

Piccolo nodded. Then Chi-Chi’s expression shifted and she looked at him closely again. Then before he could react, she threw her arms around him and gave him a brief squeeze. A hug, he realised just as she let him go and stepped back. ‘Thank you,’ she said again and shut the door.

Piccolo stood frozen for a long moment, his instincts reeling as if he were about to fight. But this wasn’t a fight, Chi-Chi hadn’t thrown a strike, she’d hugged him. Piccolo frowned at the door, before flying off. 

///

Bulma made her way toward Chi-Chi’s. She was looking forward to this as the first official fortnightly study day. She had recently worked out that it was easier keeping to something like a lesson plan if she set an alarm to go off every hour. That way any really cool, but really _distracting_ questions that came up could be written down to get addressed later. They’d filled half a page with Gohan’s interesting questions and now with a regular schedule, Bulma didn’t feel even a little bit bad about taking one of those future days to just be a cool questions day.

She landed a little way out from Chi-Chi’s garden and made her way to the door. 

‘How’s the calculus coming along?’ Chi-Chi asked when they’d exchanged hellos.

‘Good,’ Bulma said, not feeling the need to cross her fingers. They’d made a lot more progress on the actual topic since starting the alarm and question-sheet system. 

‘I’m so glad. It’s not really something I can… well, I’m glad Gohan has you in his life,’ Chi-Chi said brightly.

Bulma frowned. She’d picked up enough of the clues to put two and two together. Figuratively speaking. ‘I’m glad too,’ said Bulma, ‘and glad it’s become a regular thing. Say, if you wanted to you could sit in on a lesson some time. Maybe see what we get up to. We, uh, haven’t gotten that far in the curriculum yet, so you would probably be able to… see for yourself.’

If there was a polite or graceful way to invite Chi-Chi to study calculus alongside Gohan, Bulma didn’t know what it was. That kind of tact didn’t come nearly as natural as the maths. 

Chi-Chi didn’t look like she was offended though. If anything, her expression was kind of surprised and maybe even… hopeful. ‘You know I’m not, not very _up to date_ with mathematics. There was fighting and training and then with getting married and Gohan,’ Chi-Chi said haltingly.

‘Everyone’s got to start somewhere,’ Bulma said quietly, hoping she was being clear enough.

Chi-Chi gave a rueful sort of smile. ‘I’d… I’d really like that. Really. But… not right now. I’ve got a lot on my plate right now, but, but thank you.’ 

Bulma looked back down the garden path, not sure how she felt about the look on Chi-Chi’s face. She knew people didn't always get the education they wanted, that other things were sometimes more important or that even just getting access could be an issue. She thought about the sort of things that could drive a parent to have their five-year-old studying algebra. Or calculus. 

Gohan traipsed down the stairs off to Chi-Chi’s left clutching some of their scribbling sheets and waving. Bulma waved back and then turned to face Chi-Chi again.

‘I will take you up on that, sometime. I will,’ said Chi-Chi firmly, and just quietly enough that Gohan wouldn’t hear it.

‘Sure,’ said Bulma. ‘It’ll be great.’

///

Chi-Chi didn’t have to wait long after Bulma had left. Mere minutes had passed before there was a familiar knock on the door. She wondered if Piccolo had been watching and waiting. What did he even do with his time when he wasn't training Gohan? Probably training himself, she decided. She knew how fighters got. How she had been.

She crossed the lounge room and opened the door. Piccolo stood there, looking a lot more relaxed and a lot less wary than she usually saw him. ‘Are you ready?’ he asked.

It was absurd to feel nervous about this, Chi-Chi told herself. She lifted her chin and ignored the way her pulse had kicked up. ‘Yes.’

‘Good, let’s go.’ With no more than that, he turned around and started walking out of the garden toward the edge of the forest.

Chi-Chi followed him for quite a while until they came out of the forest to a wide plain. Piccolo turned around. He’d been silent for the entire trip, but it had been a comfortable silence.

‘So you’re a fighter, and a strong one, too,’ Piccolo said after a moment. ‘What do you know about your ki? Can you feel it? I notice you didn’t fling any energy at those dinosaurs.’ Piccolo’s tone contained a sort of easy self-possession that was strikingly different from his usual clipped stoicism. 

Chi-Chi found herself standing up a little straighter. ‘I know about ki in theory. It’s the energy that flows through living beings and I know it can be tapped for those energy attacks the really powerful fighters use. I can’t sense it though. Not in myself or others.’

Piccolo stared at her, a look of concentration on his face. It felt like he was looking into her. ‘I think we should spar. Your ki feels dormant like this, but I could sense you when you were fighting the dinosaurs. If you can get back to that state, you’ll have a better chance of sensing it yourself.’

‘Spar?’ Chi-Chi said a little incredulously. ‘I thought we’d be…’ she waved a hand vaguely, ‘meditating or something.’

Piccolo returned her gaze calmly. ‘Meditation will come later. In fact, the sort of sparring I’m referring to will almost _be_ a sort of meditation. I want you to focus on what you’re doing and how you’re moving. The sort of strength and speed you’ll need is the sort you won’t be able to access without accessing your ki.’

‘Any sparring we do is going to end pretty quickly,’ Chi-Chi muttered. It was as close as she was going to get to outright telling Piccolo how much stronger he was. They both knew it and he didn’t need to hear it out loud too.

Piccolo flashed her a grin. ‘You’re not getting out of training that easily. We won’t be sparring to win, we’ll be sparring to fight and to see if that brings your ki closer to the surface.’

Chi-Chi sighed and dropped into a fighting stance. There was something terribly implacable about Piccolo. He nodded sharply and got into his own stance. ‘Hit me with everything you’ve got,’ he said. ‘You don’t need to hold back.’

Chi-Chi’s expression was caught halfway between a smirk and grimace. She probably wouldn’t even be able to hit him, but she also hadn’t really _fought_ since before Gohan had been born. The idea was strangely appealing. 

Without wasting further words, Chi-Chi lunged forward, aiming a solid strike to Piccolo’s stomach. He blocked, rather than evading the hit, and there was something satisfying about making contact, even without actually landing the strike. Chi-Chi followed the path of her momentum and brought her leg up in a mid-kick. Piccolo blocked again, following up with his own strike. 

Chi-Chi kept pivoting. It would be a lot better for her to dodge. Piccolo was almost certainly pulling his blows, but she wasn’t keen on finding out by how much. 

After a few more testing strikes, they fell into the proper rhythm of a fight. They traded kicks and punches, and it was more an exchange than a combat. It quickly became apparent that Piccolo was giving her the opportunity to focus on her offence. There were openings in her defence that he didn’t take advantage of and he continued to favour blocking over evasion, presumably to give her the feel of a target. But it didn’t feel like an insult, like he was humouring her, instead his expression was full of intense focus. She was clearly not a threat to him, but he was taking this as deadly serious as a real fight.

When he actually leapt backward to avoid one of her strikes, Chi-Chi bared her teeth. There was no need for him to give himself that much breathing room. _This_ felt mocking, but as soon as his feet were planted again he held up his hands. ‘There, do you feel it?’ he asked.

Chi-Chi blinked, her own stance faltering. ‘What?’

‘No! Don’t lose focus,’ Piccolo barked at her. She snarled at his tone, lifting her fists, but he only nodded in response, still keeping his hands up. ‘Better. Try and focus on that feeling, on your ki. I can sense your power level. Can you?’

Chi-Chi glared at him, but reminded herself why she was here, what the point of this was. ‘What I am trying to sense, exactly?’ she asked, struggling to hold onto her composure and the feeling of the fight simultaneously.

‘It’s like… it’s energy, like the sun or… hm.’ Piccolo paused. ‘It’s an energy that rises in you, from your blood, from someplace even deeper, perhaps. When you push yourself to go that bit faster, hit that bit harder, that’s what you’re drawing on. The thing that lets you keep going.’

Chi-Chi closed her eyes and tried to feel it. Sensing energy didn’t make much sense when it was something that came from the _inside_ , but the thing she accessed to keep going, the place she drew strength from… she’d been doing a lot of that for months now. Worrying about Gohan, then looking after Gohan, finding some way to… keep going. She felt a flicker of something and her eyes flew open. ‘I think I did. I mean I felt it, just for a moment there.’

Piccolo gave her an intent look. ‘Would recognise it again? If you felt it again?’

‘I think so,’ she said.

Piccolo nodded. ‘Good. _Now_ we meditate.’ He sat cross-legged on the ground and looked over at her. She gave a brief thought to the state of her clothes before settling down opposite him. ‘Do you know how to meditate?’ he asked. There was nothing but mild curiosity in his tone.

She gave him a crooked smile. ‘I wouldn’t have been a very good fighter if I didn’t know how to centre myself,’ she pointed out.

‘Good. Then start doing that and focus inwards toward your own body. You don’t have to bother centring your mind unless it’s intruding. You’re trying to sense yourself, which is different from just trying to hone your focus.’

Chi-Chi nodded and closed her eyes, letting the instructions wash over her. It occurred to her that this was the most she’d ever heard Piccolo talk at once.

Earlier, when she’d caught a glimpse of her ki, it had been like using a sense hadn’t known she’d had. It was energy, a place where strength came from. She breathed deeply and rhythmically, trying to recapture that feeling, reaching out with that sense. Her breath hitched as she felt something again, it was familiar and… a moment later she huffed a laugh and opened her eyes.

Piccolo was watching her. ‘Yes?’ he asked.

‘I can sense _you_ ,’ Chi-Chi said.

Piccolo blinked. ‘Huh. That’s… interesting.’

‘You’re pretty strong. I guess that makes you easier to focus on.’ Chi-Chi closed her eyes again, dismissing the feeling of Piccolo from her mind. Now that she knew precisely what she was looking for she turned that sense inward. The flicker of energy was both similar and different from Piccolo’s, and it was _hers_. ‘I’ve got it,’ she said, without opening her eyes. ‘I can sense myself.’

‘Good,’ Piccolo said quietly. ‘Now it’s just a matter of learning how to manipulate it directly.’

///

Training Chi-Chi was a very different experience from training Gohan. The amount of progress she’d made in a few short sessions was impressive, but it was also expected for an adult with a history of fighting. Piccolo was confident that she’d be off the ground today. Whether she’d end up flying well was another matter, but he didn’t have a good estimate for that.

He was sitting opposite her, watching as she meditated. Her ki was a lot closer to the surface these days and it was easy to feel it. ‘Have you got a hold of it?’ he asked quietly, trying not to distract her.

‘I think so,’ she murmured back without opening her eyes. 

‘Then try and use it to push down against the ground.’ He paused. ‘Or pull yourself up. I’ve felt fighters doing it that way too. The important thing is to use that energy you’re feeling.’

Chi-Chi’s brow furrowed. Piccolo kept silent. After a long moment she sighed and spoke again. ‘You do it. Maybe if I can feel the way you fly I can copy it.’

Piccolo blinked. ‘Good idea.’ He harnessed his own ki and floated gently upward until he was hovering about a body-length off the ground. He watched her curiously from his new angle.

Chi-Chi’s head had turned to follow him, but her eyes had remained shut. Her expression went hard with determination and Piccolo found himself holding his breath as her ki flared in his senses. She rose up, maybe a head off the ground, and wobbled a bit. The wobble stabilised. Her eyes opened and for a moment she looked startled before she fell back to Earth with a light thump. 

Piccolo floated back down. 

Chi-Chi rounded on him, here eyes bright. ‘I did it!’ she said fiercely. 

Piccolo nodded back. ‘Now do it again.’

‘Right.’ This time she stayed standing. Her body shifted into a fighting stance and she closed her eyes again. In the space of a heartbeat she rose up again. She wobbled even harder trying to maintain a standing position, but she also got higher. Piccolo rose as well and got a bit closer. He wanted to be able to stop her if she fell. A fighter could get seriously hurt if their ki was fluctuating when they hit the ground. 

Chi-Chi opened her eyes. Seeing the ground below her didn’t distract her this time. She looked around slowly. ‘How do I move?’ she asked.

‘It’s more a matter of willpower than physical movement. It’s easiest to move the ways you’re familiar with on the ground and just sort of… assume that it’ll work. As long as you’re using your ki, it will.’ 

Chi-Chi nodded and took a step. She sank a little, righted herself, and tried it again. Piccolo hovered in a little closer, just in case. She tried turning around and slipped down. Piccolo dove forward and grabbed her arm and she grabbed back at him reflexively. A heartbeat later and she’d stabilised herself again. They were facing each other in mid-air and had somehow managed to end up holding hands. Chi-Chi looked between them and her cheeks flushed. She dropped again, quite suddenly, but Piccolo held on. 

As soon as Chi-Chi had caught herself, she pulled her hands back and smoothed them down the front of her skirts. ‘Thank you, Piccolo,’ she said, not quite looking at him.

He made an assenting noise and folded his arms. ‘You’ve got the basics and most of the rest is just going to be practice.’

She smiled. ‘That sounds about right.’

///

Gohan watched with wide eyes as his mum floated up to reach the high shelf instead of a grabbing a chair the way she usually did. There was a light wobble in her stance, just like _he’d_ had when he started flying. 

‘Wow! You can fly?’ 

Chi-Chi settled back on the ground and gave him a small smile. ‘Yes, I – Piccolo’s been teaching me while you’ve been studying with Bulma.’

‘That’s great! He’s a great trainer isn’t he? Does this mean you’re going to start training with us to fight the saiyans?’ Gohan asked.

Chi-Chi’s smile faltered and she crouched down so they could look at each other better. ‘No, I’m not going to train with you and I’m certainly not going to fight the saiyans,’ she said quietly. 

‘Why not?’

Chi-Chi took a deep breath and let it out slowly. ‘Because I’m not strong enough to make a difference. Not on a battlefield. But I can make a difference here.’

Gohan frowned. ‘I guess that makes sense,’ he said, ‘but you could be stronger if you trained with us!’

Chi-Chi’s small smile was back, but it almost looked sad this time. ‘Some of us are fighters and some of us are builders, rebuilders, even. I’m going to be here when you get back, so you have something to come back to. I’m not going… I’m not going to leave you without a parent. I’ve made that choice before and I stand by it.’

Gohan swallowed, thinking of Dad. His dad who’d helped save them and now wasn’t here to come back to. He leaned forward and hugged his mum. ‘Okay, you stay here,’ he said, his voice a little muffled.

Mum hugged him back and patted his head. ‘Oh, Gohan. It’s going to be alright. Everything’s going to be alright.’

///

The reports started coming in. They escalated from a UFO sighting, to fear, to outright panic, as the saiyans levelled an entire city. The whole chain of events took less than a day. Chi-Chi watched it unfolding on the television with her hand over her mouth. She turned it off when Gohan wandered downstairs. It was an effort to lower her hand and try to project a sense of calm normalcy. ‘H-how did you sleep, Gohan?’ she asked.

‘Good,’ said Gohan, giving her a drowsy smile. He blinked, looking at her closely. ‘What’s wrong?’ His eyes drifted toward the television. ‘It’s the saiyans, isn’t it?’ he asked, his voice suddenly sounding much too old for her tiny son.

‘Yes,’ said Chi-Chi, forcing herself to say it, ‘it’s the saiyans.’ 

There was a knock on the door. It was almost a relief to know the strain of the last year would be over soon. One way or another. Chi-Chi straightened up and walked over to open the door for Piccolo. She could sense him, but even if she hadn’t been able to, she held a bone-deep certainty that he’d have been there the moment the saiyan threat had made itself known.

He stood on the threshold, arms folded, looking grim. ‘It’s time,’ was all he said.

Gohan walked over to them. He had a fierce expression on his face and he nodded once in Piccolo’s direction.

Chi-Chi looked between the two of them, and held on to her composure with everything she had. She crouched down to Gohan’s level and pulled him into a hug. He hugged her back with no hesitation. ‘It’s going to be alright, Mum,’ he said and Chi-Chi nearly made a noise. Gohan should not have to be the one reassuring anyone right now. 

‘Of course it will be,’ said Chi-Chi. As much as she didn’t want to break the hug, she knew there was no way to hold Gohan here forever. She let go and straightened up. ‘Piccolo,’ she said firmly. She hesitated, her eyes flicking down to Gohan. 

Piccolo followed the direction of her gaze and shifted where he stood. ‘Go wait for me at the edge of the clearing, Gohan,’ he said.

‘Okay!’

They both waited until Gohan was out of earshot. ‘Bring him back, Piccolo,’ Chi-Chi said quietly. ‘Move heaven and earth to do it. I don’t care, whatever it takes. Keep him alive. Keep him _safe_.’ 

He stared back at her, unflinching, and slowly inclined his head. ‘I know. That was the deal. Whatever it takes, I’ll make sure he lives.’

Chi-Chi let out a long slow breath. ‘Good. Good, you do that.’ She hesitated for a moment before stepping forward into his space and hugging him. It was a lot more deliberate than the first time she’d hugged him and she didn’t dwell on why she’d done it. Everything would be fine.

Piccolo had frozen at her touch, but he managed to gingerly return the hug before she let go. His body felt solid against hers and for a moment she was sure he’d find a way to keep the deal, that somehow he would keep Gohan safe, even against the saiyans.

‘You beat those awful saiyans into the ground and you come back too, alright?’

Piccolo nodded again. ‘I spent that year training as well. We’re ready, but even if it’s not enough we’ll have Goku.’ 

Chi-Chi didn’t examine the slew of complex emotions those words evoked. ‘Yes, he’ll be back too. Good. I want everyone to come back from this. Alive.’

‘Piccolo!’ Gohan called from across the clearing. 

Piccolo gave an amused grunt and flashed one last look at Chi-Chi. ‘…Thank you, Chi-Chi. Goodbye.’

‘Goodbye, Piccolo,’ she replied. She stood at the door, watching as he walked over to Gohan. The two of them took off and she watched them until they became tiny dots against the sky and then disappeared from view entirely.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Special thanks to my guest editor for all her advice, especially regarding a crucial scene.


	4. Chapter 4

Chi-Chi barely remembered the flight to the hospital. Everything had passed in a sort of blur, from the camera crews being killed and the sudden disappearance of anything resembling real-time information. Goku hadn’t appeared on the TV. There’d been poor footage of the saiyans and glimpse of Gohan, Piccolo and Goku’s fighter friends. Then nothing, just static and technical difficulties that had cut away to reporters simply _speculating_ on what was happening. 

Chi-Chi turned off the television and stared at the black screen, trying not to think, not process. An indeterminate time passed before she heard the now familiar roar of engines. They didn’t cut off like usual and instead there was a banging at her door. Chi-Chi was halfway across the room before the echoes of the first knock had died away. 

She wrenched open the door and found Bulma standing there. ‘What do you know?’ Chi-Chi demanded.

Bulma looked grim. ‘Not enough. We’re going to the hospital. I don’t know if… I don’t know. We’re going to the hospital,’ she repeated resolutely.

Chi-Chi nodded, not even bothering to lock the door behind her. She and Bulma sprinted to the helicopter. This was a much better option than trying to fly under her own power when she was feeling… so much. 

Chi-Chi was grateful that Bulma didn’t say anything during the trip. She was holding herself together by a thread and even a kind word or an understanding look would have been too much. She needed to stay strong. She would stay strong. For Gohan and Goku and Piccolo and please, please, _please_ let them be all right. She stared out the window and Bulma piloted in silence.

Chi-Chi marched up to the front desk and stared down at the receptionist. ‘I’m Chi-Chi Son and I’m looking for Gohan and Goku Son. They’re my son and husband. Where are they?’

The receptionist’s eyes widened. ‘Oh, yes. They came in earlier. Nasty accident by the look of things.’ She caught Chi-Chi’s expression and started typing rapidly on her computer. ‘Room three-oh-four. Take the elevator to your right.’

Chi-Chi nearly ran, but managed to hold herself back to a brisk walk. They kept patients in rooms. Living patients. She marched down the corridors on level three and took a moment to brace herself when she arrived at door 304. She stepped through.

‘Mum!’ Gohan called. 

Chi-Chi physically stumbled when she heard his voice. He was alive. He was fine. Gohan was bandaged up, but his limbs were all there and he didn’t have any casts or braces. He wasn’t even hooked up to any machines. She rushed over to his bed. Her hands fluttered useless above him, not able to touch, because she had no idea if it would hurt, if she could make things worse.

‘Thank goodness,’ she said in a strangled voice. ‘Oh thank goodness you’re alive.’ Gohan gave her a strained smile. ‘Where’s… where’s your father?’ Chi-Chi asked.

‘Dad’s asleep. He’s through the curtain there. He’s hurt… kind of bad. But the doctors say he’s doing much better than they thought anyone could.’ He fell silent and wasn’t meeting her gaze. The last time he’d been like this was when she’d confronted him over his studying.

Chi-Chi took one deep breath and then another. Goku was alive. Goku was _here_. But Gohan… ‘How are you feeling?’ she asked pensively.

‘I’m… fine. I am, but…’ Gohan started plucking at the crisp hospital sheets.

‘What is it?’

‘Piccolo died,’ Gohan said in a tiny, quiet voice. Chi-Chi’s hand flew to her mouth and she bit back the sound that rose in her throat. _No_. ‘H-he died because I wasn’t fast enough and, and the big saiyan was going to blast me, and Piccolo, h-he got in the way of it and… saved me.’ Gohan’s face screwed up. ‘He’s dead and it’s my fault!’

Chi-Chi’s grief felt like some large creature trying to crawl up through her body. She choked it back down. There wasn’t time for that, not when Gohan was _blaming_ himself for it. Chi-Chi brought her hand down sharply on the covers next to Gohan. She couldn’t hug him, but he was absolutely going to listen to her. ‘Young man, it is _not_ your fault.’ Gohan looked up at her. Tears were spilling down his cheeks. Her eyes burned too, but thankfully they stayed dry. ‘You’ve got it backwards,’ Chi-Chi continued. ‘It’s Piccolo’s fault that you’re alive. And from what I’ve seen, I think he’d be pretty happy about that... he’d have been proud.’

Gohan blinked and a little crease formed between his eyebrows. It was the same one he got when he was presented with a hard maths problem. ‘I… guess,’ he said slowly.

‘There’s no guessing about it,’ Chi-Chi insisted. ‘Piccolo made his choice. The sort of choice any hero would make.’ Her eyes flicked involuntarily toward the curtain that Goku was behind. She remembered the deal she’d struck with Piccolo. A part of her hadn’t expected him to go to such lengths to keep it. For him to have sacrificed himself for Gohan… 

Gohan nodded slowly. ‘He is a hero. _Was_ a hero,’ he added in a quieter voice.

Chi-Chi pressed her lips together. Tears were pricking at the corners of her eyes and she kept them open wide in the hopes they’d dry quickly. She _couldn’t_ let Gohan see it. Not like this, not while he was already struggling with his own guilt. ‘There’s always the Dragon Balls,’ she added in a mostly normal voice.

‘No there isn’t. When Piccolo died they stopped working,’ Gohan said. Chi-Chi stopped breathing. Not only was Piccolo never coming back, they could never get _anyone_ back. The final safety net for all fighters, for _everyone on Earth_ was gone. 

Gohan would never fight again. She’d make _sure_ of it.

‘It’s okay, Mum. Earth isn’t the only place with Dragon Balls. Piccolo came from Namek and we can go to his home planet and use _their_ Dragon Balls to bring him back and bring back _our_ Dragon Balls.’

Chi-Chi stayed silent for a long moment. Piccolo was an alien like Goku? He had a _homeworld_ and there were… more Dragon Balls? Out there in the _galaxy_. The world kept getting bigger. She hoped it wouldn’t overwhelm her son. He seemed so small by contrast. ‘Gohan…’ she started to say.

‘Ugh, Chi-Chi? Is that you?’ a voice from the other side of curtains asked. 

‘Hi Dad!’ Gohan called.

‘Goku,’ Chi-Chi said under her breath. After a whole year of absence and grief and, and _hope_ , she wasn’t entirely sure what she was feeling. She’d been supressing so many of the feelings that had nearly torn her apart, that she could barely feel them anymore. It had been so important to stay strong for Gohan and she _had_.

She drew the curtain back. Goku was blinking sleepily and offered her a weak grin. His entire body was covered in one huge cast. ‘Hi, Chi-Chi! It’s good to see you again.’

‘It’s good to see you too,’ Chi-Chi said distantly. What was she supposed to _say_? This was her husband. Back from the dead. After a year. She chuckled, the noise escaping without her permission. It was a surprisingly bleak sound.

Goku’s grin broadened and he chuckled too. ‘We did it! Gohan has sure gotten strong. You did great,’ he said, turning his head as far as his set-up would allow.

Gohan smiled back at him. ‘It’s good to have you back, Dad.’

‘It’s good to be back. Training with King Kai was great, but his planet was kind of small.’

There was a knock on the door. Chi-Chi turned around with a frown, before realising who it must be. ‘Oh, Bulma, I completely forgot.’ She hurried to the door and opened it. ‘Um, Hi Bulma,’ she said, her face flushing a little with embarrassment.

Bulma gave her a sympathetic pat on the shoulder. ‘It’s okay, I wanted to give you a moment before I barged in. I mean, it’s your family.’

‘…Thank you,’ Chi-Chi said. ‘I know how close you and Goku are and now with Gohan… come on in. Please.’

Bulma gave her a rueful smile. ‘Really, it’s okay. I chatted with the nurses. I probably know more about their condition than they do.’ She walked into the room. ‘Hey Goku, welcome back.’ She turned to Gohan. ‘Good to see you too, kid. I know exactly how many cracked ribs you have, so don’t even think about trying to get up.’

‘Hi Bulma,’ said Goku. ‘It’s great to see you.’

‘Goku,’ Bulma said, her voice warm and friendly. Chi-Chi wondered how it was so easy for her. ‘So you guys did it. Of course, saving the world, just another Tuesday. We’ll probably start looking for the Dragon Balls without you initially. Repairing the damage those saiyans did is the number one priority.’

Goku looked a little rueful, but Chi-Chi was focused on the way Gohan flinched. ‘They’re, ah, well Piccolo died and that means _Kami_ died and the Dragon Balls don’t work anymore,’ said Goku. Bulma paled. ‘But it’s okay! We’ll just go to the Namek homeworld and use their ones to bring Kami and Piccolo back.’

‘What’s the Namek homeworld?’ Bulma asked, her expression sharp with curiosity. The explanations took a little longer this time with Bulma asking a lot of questions.

‘Huh,’ she said. ‘Getting into space isn’t going to be easy, but I think there might be options. It’s always been a bit of a pipedream for me.’

Chi-Chi looked over at her. ‘You want to go into space?’ she asked incredulously. 

‘Well yeah, it’s _space_. And the fighters are going to need a good pilot.’

‘We will,’ Gohan said firmly. 

Chi-Chi rounded on him. ‘No, absolutely not! You are not going into space, Gohan.’

‘I have to! Piccolo died saving me and I have to help bring him back.’ There was no groaning from Gohan, no theatrics. It made Chi-Chi uneasy and there was no way her son, _who was a child,_ was going to some alien planet to hunt Dragon Balls.

‘Aw, come on Chi-Chi, he’ll be fine!’ said Goku. ‘I got up to that kind of thing all the time when I was his age.’

Chi-Chi was surprised by the rage that flashed through her for a moment. Goku didn’t know how things had been this last year, had no concept of what Gohan had been through, how much he’d changed and how much he _hadn’t_. Goku hadn’t been there, dealing with Piccolo, dealing with the household, dealing with their _son_.

The rage passed again in an instant, leaving Chi-Chi feeling hollow. It was unfair of her to think of it like that. Goku had been _dead_ and he’d died saving everyone _including_ Gohan. Maybe if he’d just show even a hint that it had affected him as much as it had affected her, affected Gohan.

‘It’s different,’ Chi-Chi said, once she was sure her voice would be under control. ‘You’ve always been an exception, Goku. It’s like you were born for that kind of adventuring. Gohan…’ she turned to face her son. ‘I am so proud of how far you’ve come, but you’ve only been training a _year_.’ 

‘Please, Mum,’ said Gohan. ‘I can do it!’ 

Chi-Chi wavered. In some ways he had changed a lot in the last year or so. 

‘See, what did I say?’ Goku added cheerfully. ‘He’ll be fine!’

That kind of blithe assertion was the last thing Chi-Chi needed to hear. There was no reasoning, no logic, no discussion, just this simple, unthinking confidence. She stood up and smoothed her hands down the front of her skirt. ‘I can’t have this conversation right now,’ she said quietly and walked out of the room.

‘Chi-Chi,’ Goku called after her. Gohan didn’t say anything at all.

///

Bulma gave Chi-Chi a few minutes to cool off and spent the time chatting with Goku. It was really good having him back and she was privately of the opinion that he was right and Gohan would be fine on a simple retrieval mission like this one. Even if it was in space. But she could also understand Chi-Chi’s concerns. The woman had spent a hell of year trying to keep her son safe from Goku’s enemies. She was entitled to a bit of worry. Though with the way _Piccolo_ of all people had died, maybe there was more going on there than she’d realised.

‘Hey, I think I’m going to go find Chi-Chi,’ she said during a lull in the conversation. 

Gohan’s attention snapped over to her. ‘Will you try and convince her to let me come too?’ he asked, perking up.

Bulma sighed. ‘Yeah, I will, but who knows how well that’ll go.’

Gohan nodded, looking down at the bedcovers. ‘Thanks. I really need to go.’

‘You don’t owe him that,’ Bulma said. Gohan shrugged without looking up from the hospital bed. ‘No really,’ she continued. ‘You guys saved the whole Earth. Do you think all those people owe _you_ for saving them?’ she asked.

Gohan looked up at her, frowning. ‘No, we just did it because it was the right thing to do!’ 

‘And Piccolo saved you because it was the right thing to do. It’s okay if you want to help him, but the survivor’s guilt isn’t helping anyone.’ She knew that one from personal experience, but she wasn’t about to say _that_ to Gohan.

Gohan nodded, looking thoughtful. The kid was smart. He’d be okay. Bulma left the room and asked a passing nurse if she’d seen Chi-Chi. Her searches eventually took her to a balcony on the same level. 

Chi-Chi was leaning on the railing looking out across the city. Bulma went to stand beside her. The silence stretched between them for a long moment. It was Chi-Chi who eventually broke it. ‘I can’t lose him,’ she said.

‘Yeah,’ said Bulma sympathetically. 

‘I was so, so _scared_ during the saiyan attack. It was like the fight a year ago hadn’t ended, even when he’d died. And then he came back and everything was going to be fine. And now this. The Dragon Balls. _Piccolo_.’ She fell silent. 

Bulma gave her a long look. There was a strange note in her voice when she mentioned Piccolo and she had no idea how to parse it. ‘He’s not just Goku’s kid,’ she said after a while. ‘He’s also yours. He got a double-dose of the adventuring gene.’

Chi-Chi huffed a laugh, but it wasn’t a particularly happy one. ‘I’m not like Goku. And honestly I’m not sure how much like Gohan I am either.’ 

‘There’s more of a resemblance than you might think.’

‘I just wish there was some way to know what the right thing to do is. I can’t keep him away from the world forever and I wouldn’t want to. But he’s so _young_ still. These aren’t the sorts of burdens a child is meant to carry. But he’s also really torn up about Piccolo and maybe this will bring him closure.’ Chi-Chi threw up her hands. ‘I don’t know what to do!’

Bulma let the silence stretch out again. 

Chi-Chi took a few deep breaths and in the space of seconds it looked like her anguish had just _gone_. It was kind of impressive. She turned to face Bulma, her expression almost thoughtful. ‘You know Piccolo said that Gohan would outstrip his power levels. Within the frame of a couple of years. He was proud.’

‘Okay,’ said Bulma, not sure where this was going.

‘I might have been persuaded if Piccolo had weighed in on this. He had a very clear view of Gohan and his opinions were always… considered.’

‘Huh.’

‘I know, it sounds silly, just. When Goku talks about Gohan, about going off to a fight, I can’t tell how much thought has gone into his viewpoint and how much is just his natural confidence. And I love that about him, I do! He’s so optimistic, so, so _sure_. And things always worked out for him.’

Bulma nodded slowly. She could see where this was going. ‘And then they didn’t,’ she said quietly. It was something that had occurred to her too. Goku had defeated terrible enemies, King Piccolo and his progeny among them, and he’d never faltered, never doubted that things would work out in the end, and they _had_.

‘And then they didn’t,’ Chi-Chi agreed. ‘Then he died.’ 

Bulma bit the inside of her cheek. It had been hard losing her friend for a year. She couldn’t imagine what losing a husband or father had been like. ‘He’s back now,’ she said.

‘Yes. And I’m happy to have him back. But now he’s talking about Gohan going into space on some reckless mission.’

‘But not alone,’ said Bulma.

Chi-Chi gave her a sharp look, but it wasn’t hostile. ‘So I guess you have an opinion?’

Bulma blew out a long breath. ‘Yep. And I think you know what it is.’

‘Do you think it will be safe?’ There was a plaintive note in Chi-Chi’s voice, but Bulma knew lying wouldn’t be the way to go here.

‘No, it won’t be safe, but I think it won’t be any less safe than these last few years. And not getting the Dragon Balls back would be even more dangerous. Like you said, like _Piccolo_ said, Gohan’s one of the best fighters we have, especially with Goku so beat up. Gohan’s the best chance we have if things go wrong and he wouldn’t be alone. Krillin will be there and I’ll be there. And just think of all the study time Gohan and I can have during the trip to and from the Namek homeworld,’ she added with a wink.

Chi-Chi huffed a laugh. ‘That’s not a fair argument… but, I’ll… I’ll think about it.’ She was smiling, and it only looked a little strained around the edges.

///

Gohan poked at the bare, healed patch of skin on his arm. The bandages had come off today and there weren’t even any bruises. His dad smiled at him and probably would have given him a thumbs-up if he hadn’t still been all bandaged up. 

Mum and Bulma were around a lot, but most of the time it was just him and Dad. That had been nice, even if it was in hospital. Bulma’s visits were the best because the books she brought in weren’t just textbooks. Gohan and his dad had run out of stuff to talk about because hospitals were boring, but the books were always new. Gohan spent a lot of time reading and then telling his dad about what he’d read. 

There was a knock on the door. ‘Come in!’ Gohan called. It had to be a visitor. The doctors and nurses didn’t really knock.

It was Bulma and his mum. Gohan waved. They’d all been waiting on him to get cleared by the hospital and today was the last day he had to be here. The last few visits had been about the Namek spaceship and about what stuff they’d need and what it would be like to go into _space_. 

His mum had eventually said yes. She still looked worried about it whenever anyone talked about it, but Gohan wasn’t worried. He needed to go and it had to work out. It always did when his dad went on adventures.

Goku had clearly wanted to come too, but he wasn’t healed enough. Gohan would miss him, but in some ways it would be good to be hunting Dragon Balls just with Bulma and Krillin. Then maybe his mum wouldn’t be so worried next time. It wasn’t even that dangerous because they’d be on a planet with Dragon Balls and people could always be wished back. His dad had come back and Gohan would make _sure_ Piccolo got back as well and everyone else who was lost.

His mum came through the door and immediately swept him into a big hug. Gohan hugged her back properly. She’d had to be careful with him recently because of the injuries and this felt like their first real hug in _ages_.

‘Hi, Mum,’ he said.

‘Hello, Gohan,’ she said back. He couldn’t see her expression, but he could hear that she was smiling.

‘Hey, kid, hey Goku,’ said Bulma from across the room.

‘Hi!’ Goku called out. ‘I’m glad you get to go home, Gohan, but I sure wish I could be going too.’ Chi-Chi looked up from the hug. ‘Hospital is so boring and I can’t wait to get back to training.’

Chi-Chi let go and stood up straight. ‘Well, the doctors say it shouldn’t be more than a fortnight or so. You’re healing a lot faster than… than a human would.’

‘So,’ said Bulma turning to face Gohan, ‘all we need to do is swing by your house, pack and head back to Capsule Corp. I’ve got everything _I_ need already on board and Krillin says he’s packed too.’

‘I won’t need long,’ Gohan said. 

Chi-Chi looked down at Gohan. ‘I made your favourite dinner for tonight and you should get to sleep in your bed one last night before you go.’

Gohan hesitated for a second. ‘Thanks, Mum.’

Bulma shot his mum a weird look. ‘Uh, yeah. We’ll leave tomorrow morning, I guess? I can let Krillin know.’

‘Thank you,’ said Chi-Chi. ‘Would you like to stay for dinner?’ 

‘Yeah, actually,’ Bulma said with a smile. ‘I’d love to.’

Gohan smiled at her. 

‘I’ll be sorry to miss that,’ Goku said with his own smile. ‘Have fun everyone. And be sure to tell me all your cool adventure stories when you get back from Namek.’

///

Chi-Chi was putting together extra food for Goku to have in hospital. It gave her something to do and she firmly told herself that this wasn’t like those first few months after Piccolo had kidnapped Gohan, when the only thing she’d had to do was keep the household running. Alone. Gohan would be fine with Bulma and Krillin and Goku was here. He was still healing, but he was back. Alive. If she was chopping the vegetables with more force than strictly necessary, there was no one around to see it. The knife could always be resharpened later. 

The phone ran. Hope and dread surged in Chi-Chi for a moment before she realised that there wasn’t any news she could get from a telephone call that would justify her response. It was probably the hospital staff complaining again about Goku trying to exercise despite broken bones. 

‘Hello?’ Chi-Chi said when she’d picked up the phone.

‘Hi Chi-Chi, it’s Bulma.’

‘What?! How? Where are you?’ Chi-Chi demanded.

‘Still back on Namek. Things have gotten… complicated. I was thinking of calling Roshi, but, well, I had your number too and thought maybe… anyway, things have gotten complicated.’

‘But how are you calling me from _Namek_?’

‘Oh you know,’ Bulma’s tone went straight from worried to off-hand. ‘Access to a Namek ship and Capsule Corp tech and long, boring flight to another planet. I kludged something up on the way here.’ Bulma cleared her throat. ‘But, ah, I need to tell you some… things.’ 

Chi-Chi listened in dawning horror as Bulma described not just Vegeta’s presence, but about the galactic dictator who was also on Namek looking for the Dragon Balls. For a moment Chi-Chi wished Bulma _had_ called Roshi instead. She knew what this meant. They needed Goku. _Gohan_ needed Goku. And Chi-Chi would have to be the one to tell him. She’d march into the hospital ward and tell her healing husband that half a galaxy away a massively powerful evil overlord was threatening their son. She’d send him off again to a dangerous life-threatening situation weeks after she’d just gotten him back.

‘Thank you for telling me,’ Chi-Chi forced herself to say when Bulma had finished speaking. ‘Is… is Gohan there?’

There was a pause on the other end of the line. ‘Sorry, he’s out collecting the Namek Dragon Balls and trying to stay under Freeza’s radar at the moment.’

‘Okay,’ Chi-Chi said. ‘Okay. Just. Tell him I love him. And tell him…’ she took a deep breath. ‘Tell him his father’s on his way.’

‘Will do. Thanks, Chi-Chi,’ said Bulma.

Chi-Chi nodded even though Bulma could see it. She had to clear her throat twice before she could respond verbally. ‘Goodbye, Bulma.’

///

Chi-Chi was surprised to see that Goku wasn’t alone in his room at the hospital. Roshi was already there and so was a short man with a sword.

‘Hi, Chi-Chi!’ Goku greeted her. ‘Yajirobe was just telling me that the senzu beans from Korin are ready. Isn’t that great?’

One kind of tension left Chi-Chi only for it to be replaced by another. On the trip to the hospital she’d decided that she wouldn’t tell Goku anything until he was healed. He’d be no good to anyone if he didn’t rest. This news changed… everything. Nothing. 

‘I’m… glad. Look, Goku, I just got a message from Bulma. From Namek,’ she said haltingly.

‘Great! How’s the team going?’

‘Not good. Vegeta’s there on Namek and so is a galactic dictator named Freeza. He’s a hundred times as powerful as Vegeta and he’s also after the Dragon Balls. He’s been… killing people. Maybe a whole planet’s worth of them. Gohan, Bulma and Krillin are in trouble and stranded on Namek because their ship got destroyed. You’re,’ Chi-Chi took a breath, hating how choked it sounded, ‘you’re their only hope.’

Goku’s expression had gotten sharper and more determined as Chi-Chi had spoken. ‘Right,’ he said. ‘Yajirobe?’

Yajirobe reached into the pouch he was holding and flicked a senzu bean at Goku’s mouth. As soon as Goku had finished it, he leapt out of bed and tore off his bandages. In mere moments he’d shed his hospital gown and donned his gi. Had that been in the cupboard the entire time? Chi-Chi glared at Roshi, but he was studiously avoiding her gaze.

‘Ah, that’s better,’ said Goku as he tightened the belt around his waist.

Chi-Chi couldn’t stop staring at him. He didn’t seem scared or worried or anything other than happy to be back in his gi. ‘How are you going to get there?’ she asked. Every word made her feel like she was betraying her husband by sending him off to some sort of suicide mission. He didn’t seem to notice.

‘I’ve been talking with Bulma’s dad, Doctor Briefs. He’s been working on the ship I arrived in back when I was a baby. I sure hope it’s ready!’

And he did hope that. Chi-Chi was sure he did. There was nothing in his expression or body language to suggest he grasped the enormity of what she was asking of him. He was a hero. Down to the bone. ‘Goku…’ She shot a look over at the other people in the room. The audience didn’t matter. This might be the last chance she’d get for weeks. Or longer. ‘Goku, please be careful. Please, just come home safely. I. Gohan needs his father and I… I need you too. If you get a chance to run, to just get everyone together and run– ’

Goku interrupted her. ‘Aw, don’t worry. I’ll be back before you know it. And I won’t need to run. I’m going to train extra hard on the trip to Namek. This Freeza sounds really bad, and not just for our friends. If he’s out there hurting people someone needs to stop him.’ At the end his voice got harder and colder. He was right, of course. If Freeza was half as bad as Bulma had made him sound then it was important to stop him. Important for the whole _galaxy_. But why did it have to be _Goku_ , always Goku. Couldn’t the galaxy rely on someone else for a change?

Chi-Chi wanted to talk, wanted to tell him how much he meant to her, but she was worried it would come out sounding selfish. Like she’d be saying he was more important to her than the galaxy was. If she opened her mouth again she was sure the only thing that would come out would be more pleas for him to be careful and stay safe. Instead she crossed the room and kissed him, pouring out her fear and hope and everything else she couldn’t say to him.

He returned the kiss and absently patted her hair. After a moment he stepped back and gave a jaunty wave to the room at large. ‘Alright, bye everyone! See you when I get back from Namek. Nimbus!’ With no more than that, he leapt out the window. Chi-Chi wrapped her arms around herself and watched him fly off in the direction of the Capsule Corp compound. She wondered if she should talk to Dr Briefs herself. 

///

King Kai sighed to himself as he watched the dead Earth warriors bicker about who should get wished back first and why. It was practically a miracle that the mission had been this successful with an overwhelming powerhouse like Freeza involved. Goku had, of course, completely ignored his advice to stay away from Namek. No one listened to him and now it was starting to look like the mission would fall apart because a handful of dead fighters couldn’t reach an agreement. 

Just as the argument was really heating up, Piccolo stood from where he’d been meditating against the side of the house. He walked over, which was more interest in the proceedings than he’d shown in last _month_. 

‘Hello, Piccolo, nice of you to join the rest of us,’ King Kai said sharply. He was pretty sure he was strong enough to defeat Piccolo if it came down to that, but it wouldn’t be a good fight. 

Tien and Yamcha fell silent and gave Piccolo almost identical looks of wariness. It was harder to read Chiaotzu, but he was following Piccolo’s movements pretty closely, even if his expression didn’t change. ‘Let me talk to them,’ Piccolo said without preamble. 

King Kai sighed again. Well, if it would speed up the process. ‘Okay, put your hand on my back.’

It didn’t surprise him when Piccolo made his request to be wished back first. Despite the indignation of the others, Piccolo outlined a decent case. Bringing him and Kami back would bring back Earth’s Dragon Balls and that was absolutely a priority. What was surprising was when he specified being wished to Namek.

‘What’s wrong with you!’ King Kai demanded. ‘That’s where Freeza is. Right now! If you get killed the Dragon Balls stop working again.’

‘Do it,’ Piccolo repeated firmly across the telepathic connection. ‘But wish me back for ten minutes from now.’

Gohan and Dende agreed readily enough, despite King Kai’s sputtered protests. 

‘I have a promise to keep,’ Piccolo said quietly enough that only King Kai could hear him. As if that made his suicidal plans any better.

King Kai broke the connection and turned around. ‘What do you even want with those extra ten minutes? Are you looking to try my training now? It’s a bit late, you know!’

Piccolo stared at King Kai for a long moment. When he finally spoke, he sounded reluctant and King Kai wondered if he’d have said anything at all without the time limit hovering over them. ‘Could you contact Chi-Chi Son, back on Earth?’

King Kai stared. ‘Goku’s wife? Sure. Why?’

Piccolo cleared his throat. ‘To deliver a message.’ When King Kai continued to stare, Piccolo growled under his breath. ‘So do it, already.’

‘I don’t take orders from you. Besides, you’ve been a very rude guest.’

Piccolo scowled. ‘Please,’ he muttered.

That was surprising enough that King Kai relented. Good manners should always be encouraged. And, he’d admit, he was a little curious. ‘Okay, you know what to do,’ King Kai said, turning his back. 

Piccolo made an uncertain noise. ‘Couldn’t you just deliver a message?’

He absolutely could. ‘You wanted to deliver a message, so deliver it.’

Another moment passed before King Kai felt Piccolo’s hand on his back again. There was enough latent telepathy in Piccolo himself that it wasn’t too hard to make the connection with Chi-Chi. Not that it was much of a strain for King Kai normally. He just didn’t like the odd feeling he got whenever he reached out to the physical world from the spirit realm.

‘Chi-Chi?’ said Piccolo. There was a strange note in his tone.

‘What? Yes? What is this?’ Chi-Chi Son’s voice resonated in King Kai’s head.

‘It’s Piccolo, from the spirit world. King Kai is providing the telepathic connection.’

‘Piccolo!’ Chi-Chi’s voice was a little strained, but she sounded happy.

‘I can’t talk for long. I just wanted to let you know that they found the Namek Dragon Balls and I’m being brought back to Namek. Gohan’s fine right now and I’m going to bring him back to Earth. No matter what.’

‘I… that’s… a relief. Bulma’s father made another spaceship and I was going to… never mind. I trust you. Just. Tell Gohan I love him, when you see him. Please?’

King Kai shifted uncomfortably. There was a lot of raw emotion in Chi-Chi’s voice.

‘Of course.’ Piccolo seemed to cast around for something more to say. ‘I… goodbye, Chi-Chi.’

‘Goodbye, Piccolo.’

Piccolo let his hand fall and King Kai cut the connection with some relief. 

‘What was that about?’ Yamcha asked.

King Kai turned around in time to catch Piccolo folding his arms and scowling. Then he disappeared as the wish took hold of him. Another fool off to Namek, King Kai thought glumly. 

‘No really, what was that about?’ Yamcha repeated. ‘That was weird, right?’

///

Being back on Earth should have been the final victory. The Nameks had been brought back to life and saved from the awful ground zero their planet had become. Everyone was back now. Except for Goku. And the worst thing was that there was no way to know how the battle was going, let alone if Goku was even still alive. He had to win. He had to.

Piccolo was standing far off to one side with Gohan, away from the crowds. Even in the presence of the other Nameks he seemed… different. More distant, colder. Right on the _other_ edge of the crowd stood Vegeta. Bulma was keeping an eye on him. Back on Namek things had gotten kind of nuts and it was hard to know where everyone stood. She wished Goku was here. 

Well, there was no use standing around and thinking about things she couldn’t change. She marched over to where Piccolo and Gohan were standing. Piccolo turned at her approach and narrowed his eyes. Gohan waved slowly.

‘Hi,’ said Bulma. ‘Are you okay, kid?’ It wasn’t like there was much she could do if he said ‘no’, given that Piccolo was standing _right there_. But she had to ask.

‘Uh, yeah,’ said Gohan. He seemed subdued, but Bulma was pretty sure that had more to do with what had gone down on Namek. He was standing close to Piccolo and sneaking the occasional glance up, like he couldn’t quite believe he was there. 

‘You’re Gohan’s study master, right?’ Piccolo asked. He hadn’t stopped watching her, like he was assessing her as a potential threat.

Bulma snorted to herself. ‘Yeah. I help Gohan study, if that’s what you’re asking.’

‘Is Dad going to be okay?’ Gohan asked in a quiet voice.

Piccolo looked down before his gaze snapped back up to Bulma. He grimaced. 

Bulma opened her mouth to reply, trying to think something she could say that would be reassuring without offering false hope.

‘If anyone can win that fight, it’s Goku,’ said Piccolo. ‘If he can’t, we have the Dragon Balls from Namek and a long time to train before we have to worry about Freeza.’

Something like that, Bulma supposed. 

‘Oh please,’ a voice drawled from behind her. Bulma spun around. She wasn’t entirely surprised that Vegeta had gravitated to the only other saiyan. Half-saiyan, whatever. But he was far from a welcome sight. Beside her Piccolo had tensed. ‘Kakarot and Freeza are going to tear each other apart and a battle like that is going to destroy the entire planet. There won’t be enough left of either of them for stupid wishes.’

‘Shut up, Vegeta!’ Gohan snarled. ‘Stop talking about my dad!’

Bulma stared down at him in shock. She’d never seen him get angry, let alone like this. For a moment she could see a strange resemblance to Goku. Goku was all cheerful smiles right up until he encountered a real enemy. Someone who was killing people and destroying lives. 

Vegeta smirked back, his eyes glittering with malice. ‘I can do whatever I want. My two worst enemies are thoughtfully taking care of each other and leaving me the most powerful being in the galaxy.’

Gohan dropped into a fighting stance and he looked about a second away from throwing a punch. Or maybe just skipping the formalities and lunging straight at Vegeta’s throat.

‘Gohan,’ Piccolo snapped. If he had been tense before, now he looked like a piano wire strung over half a continent. 

Gohan turned his head to look up at Piccolo, but he otherwise stayed primed for violence. ‘You heard what he was saying.’

‘I did,’ Piccolo replied in very measured tones. ‘And you just want to pick a fight. Do you think Goku would approve of you lashing out?’

Gohan flinched and lowered his hands. ‘I just…’ he trailed off and looked down at the ground.

Vegeta laughed. Bulma rounded on him. ‘Don’t you have anything better to do?’ she demanded. Adrenaline surged in her, but she was willing to bet that he didn’t see her as a threat. 

Vegeta sneered at her. ‘Consider yourself lucky that I do,’ he said. 

Bulma was pretty sure she didn’t take another breath until Vegeta had turned on his heel and stalked off back the way he’d come. She looked over at Piccolo who was still staring down at Gohan. ‘That was some, uh, good conflict resolution,’ she said.

Piccolo glanced over at her and grunted.

She was just about to say something else when someone called her name. ‘Huh?’ she said.

Piccolo gave her an odd look. 

‘Bulma? Is that you?’

‘Y-Yamcha?’ she stammered. It… it couldn’t be…

‘Yeah, I’m in the spirit world! And King Kai’s letting me speak with you. I uh, have some bad news.’

Bulma was barely paying attention to her surroundings. She listened as Yamcha described Goku’s victory. And the price. He had been killed and Namek had been destroyed. ‘But we can wish him back!’ Bulma said. ‘We have the Namek Dragon Balls now, we can wish him back. We can wish you _all_ back.’

‘That’s great! Oh… oh no. Bulma, King Kai says we can’t wish Goku back. He’d appear where Namek was, but there is no Namek and… you can work out what would happen.’

Bulma’s hand flew to her mouth. She knew what hard vacuum could do to a human body. Or even, presumably, a saiyan body. In that way at least, they weren’t so different. She looked down at Gohan and haltingly repeated what Yamcha had said.

‘Are you all idiots? Just wish him to the part of the spirit world near here and then wish him back from there,’ said Vegeta.

Bulma started. She hadn’t even noticed him approaching. ‘Would, would that _work? _’ she asked Yamcha. ‘Wishing him back like that?’__

__‘King Kai says it would!’ he exclaimed._ _

__Gohan, and even Piccolo, smiled when Bulma repeated it. Vegeta just sneered, but Bulma was pretty sure he was pleased too. She didn’t pretend to fully understand saiyans, but if Vegeta had even half of Goku’s drive to find powerful people to fight, she could guess why he’d shared his suggestion. It was lucky Vegeta hadn’t had something better to do than eavesdrop after all. And she guessed he didn’t have anywhere to stay either, just like all the Nameks…_ _

__Bulma said goodbye to Yamcha and the telepathic connection faded away. She was already thinking about ways of recreating the effect with technology. If they could contact the afterlife at will, that would be a game-changer._ _

__She started again when Piccolo approached her with Gohan in tow. ‘Can you watch Gohan for me for a while?’ Piccolo asked bluntly._ _

__Bulma stared at him for a long moment. It was so odd to hear such a normal request from someone like him. ‘Sure,’ she said, thinking that she’d be a much more responsible guardian than… Piccolo. ‘What are _you_ going to do?’_ _

__He stared down at her silently for long enough that she didn’t think he was going to answer. When he spoke his tone was very flat. ‘Someone has to tell Chi-Chi what happened to Goku and I’m the fastest person here.’ His gaze slid over to Vegeta. ‘The fastest appropriate person,’ he amended._ _

__A cold feeling settled in the pit of Bulma’s stomach. _Chi-Chi_. She’d also lost Goku. Again. It just wasn’t _right_. Winning should mean that everyone came home alive and, and lived happily ever after, damn it! Even with the Namek Dragon Balls, Chi-Chi had been missing her husband for too long already._ _

__‘I’m fast too!’ Gohan said indignantly._ _

__Bulma opened her mouth to respond. That conversation was one a son shouldn’t have to have with his own mother. She didn’t know how to phrase a gentle denial, however. Tact was not her strong point._ _

__Piccolo saved her the need to reply. ‘Not as fast as I am. Besides, you’re needed here to keep an eye on the Nameks. And Vegeta. Don’t try and fight him again,’ Piccolo added as an afterthought. With that he took off, flying toward Chi-Chi’s. He dwindled into a dot against the horizon faster than Bulma expected. She looked down at Gohan and held out her hand. He put his hand in hers and looked up at her. His expression was closed down and guarded._ _

__‘Do you want to go see if we can find Dende?’ Bulma asked, a little desperately._ _

__Gohan perked up a bit. ‘Yeah.’_ _


	5. Chapter 5

Chi-Chi was washing dishes when there was a knock on the door. She started, her heart suddenly thudding in her chest. It was a fighter at her door. She could sense that much. She dried her hands to give herself time to sort out the hope and concern warring inside her. They felt familiar, but also… not.

She crossed the living room and opened the door. Piccolo was standing there, arms folded, looking down at her with a tight expression. Before she could think better of it, she threw her arms around him.

He froze up, tensing beneath her hands and making a surprised little noise. But he recovered almost immediately and awkwardly returned the gesture. She let him go after a moment as her thoughts caught up with her. ‘Where’s Gohan?’ she demanded as a cold feeling swept through her. 

‘He’s fine,’ Piccolo hastily assured. ‘He’s safe and well.’ 

The tension she’d been carrying in her shoulders loosened. She hadn’t even noticed she’d been holding so much of it. ‘Thank goodness.’

Piccolo grunted and his gaze darted away. ‘Goku wasn’t so lucky,’ he said. 

Chi-Chi’s mouth went dry. ‘What happened?’

‘He defeated the most powerful being in the galaxy and saved us all. But he paid for it with his life.’

Chi-Chi made an involuntary noise, a pang of grief hitting her like a strike to the solar plexus. ‘But, but he’s already been brought back once before and – ’

‘It’s fine,’ Piccolo interrupted again. ‘We have Dragon Balls from Namek. We can bring him back in four months.’

Chi-Chi took a deep breath, her spine straightening automatically. It had been hard living without Goku for an entire year. Getting him back, only to lose him, her son, and Piccolo, had been harder still. Four months was nothing. She had her son back safe and that was all that she’d allow herself to focus on. ‘Thank you for letting me know.’ She gave a weak smile. ‘I suppose that’s the danger of being married to a hero.’ 

‘It’s why I didn’t bring Gohan with me,’ Piccolo muttered. ‘He’s with Bulma. I wanted to tell you about Goku before you saw him. I thought you’d want a moment.’ He wouldn’t meet her eyes. 

Chi-Chi was touched. She absolutely wouldn’t have wanted Gohan to see her panic. ‘That was very thoughtful of you,’ she said quietly.

Piccolo met her eyes and they held each other’s gaze for a long moment. Chi-Chi cleared her throat and looked away. Her face felt a little heated. It was probably relief. ‘Would you like to come in for tea?’ she asked. 

Piccolo shifted where he stood. ‘I would, that would be very welcome, Chi-Chi.’

She nodded decisively and walked through to the kitchen, trusting Piccolo to come in and take a seat, just like before. She hadn’t touched the tea drawer since the mission to Namek and it was the just the way she’d left it.

When they were sitting down at the dining room table, Chi-Chi spoke. ‘Tell me…’ She looked down into her teacup, but it didn't make mustering her words any easier. ‘Actually, do mind if I… talk? Just… just for a bit?’ She glanced back up.

Piccolo’s brow creased. ‘Say whatever you want.’

Chi-Chi let out a long breath. ‘It’s been hard with everyone gone. Especially after I’d just found a kind of balance. Losing Goku the first time was like nothing else. It felt like half of me had been taken away. Did you know I used to know him as a child? He was like this, this _fixture_ in the world, protecting it from threats.’ She shot Piccolo a glance, belatedly remembering that he had once qualified as one of those threats. His expression was unreadable and Chi-Chi hastily ploughed on, hoping she hadn’t offended him.

‘And for a while there I felt like I was walking around as only half a person. I don’t know what I would have done without Gohan.’ Here Piccolo’s gaze left her face to look around the room instead. She sighed again. ‘Don’t get the wrong idea, by the end of that year I was glad to have you there as well.’

Piccolo’s head whipped around to look back at her. He opened his mouth to say something, then seemed to think better of it and closed it again.

Chi-Chi huffed a laugh. The sound was a little bitter. ‘These past few months were the hardest by far. Gohan and Bulma all gone into space, you dead. Then Goku leaves as soon as he’s able to. And it’s good that he went! He went to protect Gohan, to protect the _world_.’ Chi-Chi scrubbed a hand down her face, suddenly weary. ‘It’s so damn hard being married to a hero. I know he didn’t abandon us, he _died_. He died protecting the world from Raditz and then from, from _Freeza_. He’d be here if he could, I know he would.’

‘I’m sure he would,’ Piccolo said quietly. 

Chi-Chi nodded. ‘I know he cares about us, about Gohan and me. But being the kind of hero he is, it’s like half the time he doesn’t even touch the mundane parts of reality. Everyday concerns just flow over him without registering. I don’t know if it’s because he’s a saiyan or because he’s _Goku_. That’s the only thing that really scares me about Gohan. I know he has strong fighters to protect him, but I worry that one day he’s going to get so deep into training and fighting that he’s going to just look _through_ the world without really seeing the individual people in it. Goku wasn’t built for small scales.’

She drained the tea from her cup in long swallows. ‘Is that a terrible thing to say about my husband?’ she finally asked.

Piccolo tilted his head. ‘I’ve been told that announcing you’re going to take over the world is a terrible thing to say. This, well, it doesn’t seem quite on the same level.’

That surprised a laugh out of Chi-Chi. She snorted and covered her mouth with her hand. ‘I think I needed that,’ she said, sobering. ‘Thank you for listening.’

Piccolo nodded. ‘It’s fine. It was… interesting. To hear that.’

‘But what about you? You’re a… Namek? Is that how you pronounce it? What does that mean for you?’ she asked, wanting to change the topic.

Piccolo pinched the bridge of his nose and made a noise in the back of his throat. ‘Where to even start.’

‘At the beginning?’ Chi-Chi suggested.

Piccolo was silent for a long moment as he gathered his thoughts. ‘Being a Namek doesn’t mean anything to me. Except.’ He paused and stared down at his cup. ‘It turns out that what happened with Kami and King Piccolo...’ he trailed off and looked back up at her sharply. ‘Do you know about that?’

‘Yes,’ said Chi-Chi. Goku had explained as much as he was able to during the World Tournament when Kami had appeared. It felt like such a long time ago.

Piccolo stared at her for a long moment. ‘Good,’ he muttered. He took another sip of his tea before continuing. ‘What happened with Kami and King Piccolo is not that unusual for Nameks.’ He growled into his teacup. ‘And I know that because I fused with a dying Namek warrior. His name was Nail and now he’s… a part of me.’

Chi-Chi stared at Piccolo. She’d been married to an alien for years and never had to conceptualise these kinds of differences. No wonder his ki felt different. ‘What does that mean for you, exactly?’ she asked, wrestling with her fascination in an attempt to stay tactful. There were so many questions she wanted to ask, but was mindful of pushing too hard.

‘Good question,’ Piccolo said with a snort, the bitterness notable in his tone. ‘Power, mostly. I rivalled the saiyans for a moment, before everything changed again. And my technique’s better. It’s part muscle memory and part knowing a fighting style meant for a Namek body.’

Chi-Chi started, unable to help herself. ‘So you actually have knowledge from this “Nail”? Do you just have facts and things or do you have his memories? His emotions?’ She bit her lip to stop the tide of questions. It was fascinating, but Piccolo’s expression was flat and impossible to read. He didn’t look comfortable.

‘I have… bits and pieces. Flashes of memory, knowledge that isn’t… mine. Sometimes emotions. I had this burning hatred for Freeza that definitely didn’t belong to me. I hadn’t felt that consuming will to destroy someone since… not for a long time.’ Piccolo bared his teeth. ‘I don’t like having _someone else’s_ motivation in my head. Not now. Not again.’

‘Do you regret it? Fusing with Nail?’ Chi-Chi asked.

Piccolo shot her a sharp look. ‘I hadn’t thought about it like that.’ He sipped his tea for a few moments and Chi-Chi silently refilled his cup. He glanced down in surprise. ‘Thank you,’ he murmured.

‘You’re welcome.’

‘I don’t regret it,’ Piccolo said after a while. ‘Aside from the power, it’s good to have saved some part of Nail. He was a great warrior.’ Piccolo lifted one hand and his fist clenched and relaxed. ‘I can tell that much. And at the end, he had no regrets. I could sense that too.’ Piccolo let his hand drop back to the table. He looked back up at Chi-Chi, his expression unreadable again. ‘I can see how this helps. To have someone to… listen. Thank you.’

Chi-Chi smiled. ‘That’s what friends are for.’

Surprise flashed across Piccolo’s face before he regained his composure. ‘I. Yes. Yes, that’s… right.’ 

///

Piccolo stood outside the door of Chi-Chi’s house and thought. Without the threat of saiyans looming on the horizon, things had changed. Namek had changed things too. Gohan was quieter, but also quicker to feel and show anger. Freeza had been... a nightmare… was the way Gohan had described it. And then explained what nightmares were. Piccolo decided that sleep could be moved into the same category as eating. Thankfully unnecessary and somewhat unsettling. 

Dying, being brought back and even fusing with Nail had changed things too, Piccolo supposed. But it didn’t _feel_ like it changed things. Not the same way as seeing Goku come back, only for him to die again. It had shocked Piccolo deeply when he’d seen Goku and hadn’t felt that overwhelming desire for violence. Killing him seemed to have extinguished that desire for good. 

So despite the fact that he was standing outside the house in the middle of the day as he had a hundred times before, knowing that Gohan and Chi-Chi were there and Goku was not, things were still different. Piccolo knocked. There was only one way to find out how different things were.

Chi-Chi opened the door. She smiled warmly when she saw him. ‘I wondered if you’d come,’ she said.

Piccolo shrugged. 

Chi-Chi’s smile fell. ‘I’d hoped you would. Gohan’s been… upset, I think. He doesn’t want to talk to me about it. About Namek.’

‘Is he alright?’ Piccolo asked, tensing.

‘I’m… not sure. But if there’s one thing I remember about being a fighter it’s that sometimes you need something beyond words. I was wondering if you’d take him out to spar. It would probably be good for him to get out of the house.’

Piccolo nodded. ‘We’ll spar and I’ll make sure he gets in some meditating too. There’s nothing better for centring yourself.’

‘Thank you, Piccolo.’ She turned to face the stairs. ‘Gohan! Piccolo’s here.’

There was a muffled thump from above and a few moments later Gohan appeared at the top of the stairs. He smiled when he saw Piccolo, but it was only there for a brief twitch before it was gone again.

///

Gohan settled into a fighting stance, facing Piccolo. He felt the same level of determination from when he had been preparing to face the saiyans, but it felt flatter now, emptier. And there weren’t even any saiyans coming. There was just him and Vegeta. So Gohan didn’t need to train so hard because Vegeta wasn’t hurting people now. That’s what Bulma had said.

It was strange that even though there wasn’t a threat coming to Earth, Gohan still felt tense, like he had at the end of the year. And on Namek. He would wake up in the middle of the night, heart pounding, and he didn’t even remember what he was waking from. There were things he didn’t think about during the day and that helped, but not much.

‘Alright. Show me what you can do,’ Piccolo said in his quiet, measured voice.

Gohan drew in a deep breath and let it out slowly. Then he darted forward, aiming a mid-strike at Piccolo’s body. Piccolo blocked and followed through with his own kick. From there the blows came fast and hard. It only took a handful more for them to end up in the sky, swooping and dodging, lashing out and striking. 

As Gohan’s heart beat harder, his lips pulled back from his teeth. He was the first one to blast with his ki. The strike went wide, much less focused than he was capable of. Piccolo’s answering blast was a lot narrower and precise and Gohan barely dodged in time. This felt different from their usual sparring from before Namek. Before Piccolo had died. Before everyone had died. 

Gohan unleashed another blast, a cry tearing from his throat as he swept toward Piccolo again. Gohan was much stronger than he’d ever been, but Piccolo was managing to keep up, just like he had on Namek when he’d fought Freeza and…

Gohan’s next strike was wild, undisciplined and he was barely surprised when Piccolo caught his fist and threw him back down toward the ground. Gohan caught himself at the last moment and pivoted to face upward again. He was met by a huge ki blast and he had just enough time to block, but not well. The energy slammed him into the ground and he lay there panting. He almost felt a little bit better.

Piccolo touched down lightly beside him. ‘You’re stronger. Sit up, we’re meditating.’ It was the same, matter-of-fact tone Piccolo always used, whether Gohan had done well or poorly. The sound of it was soothing.

Gohan heaved his body up into a sitting position while Piccolo folded down gracefully opposite. The grass felt scratchy against Gohan’s ankles where his gi was just a little too small. His calf twinged with the beginnings of a cramp and he forced it to relax as he closed his eyes. He fidgeted in a way he hadn’t for months.

‘Sit still,’ Piccolo said flatly.

Gohan stopped fidgeting and tried to find his centre like he’d been taught. He started breathing in the right pattern. After a bit longer it became automatic and his mind started emptying. 

‘Your ki was all over the place,’ Piccolo said, breaking the long silence.

Gohan didn’t know if Piccolo meant during the sparring or during the meditation. ‘Yeah,’ Gohan agreed without opening his eyes.

Piccolo grunted. 

‘Can we do this again? Keep sparring, I mean.’

Piccolo grunted again. ‘Sure.’

Gohan’s heart rate was still settling back down from the fight, but he smiled. ‘Okay, good.’

///

It was easy enough for Piccolo to settle back into the routine of training Gohan. There should have been less of an edge to their sparring now that they weren’t preparing for imminent invasion, but Namek seemed to have had a strong effect on Gohan. He was a lot more on-edge and Piccolo made sure there was at least as much meditation as actual sparring in their sessions. It had always made him feel more focused, especially in his early days when he’d still been trying to piece himself together.

Today’s training session had lasted longer than usual. Gohan was the one who had been pushing and for that reason Piccolo was reluctant to cut it short. Both of them ended up pretty battered and panting heavily. 

‘Are we done?’ Piccolo asked, carefully.

Gohan’s gaze darted up toward him and then back down. ‘Yeah. Um. Thanks.’

Piccolo grunted and they took off, heading back to Chi-Chi’s. He’d barely started knocking when the door opened. 

‘Hello, Gohan,’ she said and Piccolo caught her sharp gaze roving over her son, assessing the superficial wounds. 

She relaxed slightly when Gohan smiled up at her, even if the expression was briefer than it used to be. ‘Hi, Mum.’

Her gaze slid over to Piccolo. ‘Would you like to stay for dinner? Um, tea?’ Chi-Chi asked.

‘I would. Thank you,’ said Piccolo without hesitation. The enticement of tea was only a small part of why he accepted. He didn’t examine his other reasons too closely. They were tied up with some ideas he’d learned from Nail and it was… difficult integrating those new parts into himself. Too often it reminded him of the very early days. 

Chi-Chi smiled at him. Well, that was another reason he’d accepted.

///

‘Flying does become more intuitive over time, but I still struggle to go in a direction I can’t _see_. I noticed when I was doing some drills earlier. Well, dusting the high shelves, but anyway. It’s not even a problem, I just think it’s interesting,’ Chi-Chi said. 

Piccolo grunted. ‘You can if you work at it, but it’s a different technique.’

Gohan was glad that Piccolo stayed for dinner most nights. The extra company meant there was less room to think about Namek and having Piccolo _here_ , where he could see and sense him, meant that they’d _succeeded_. He liked the way they chatted too. The background noise was nice.

‘…Gohan?’

Gohan looked up from pushing his food around the bowl. ‘Huh?’ 

Chi-Chi was giving a worried look. ‘I was just wondering what it was like when you started flying? Piccolo says you were very inventive in the ways you moved.’

‘Flying upside-down or doing loops is fun, I guess.’ 

‘Do you have a favourite way of flying or a special trick you like to do?’ she asked.

Gohan shrugged, not really looking up from his food.

‘Are you alright?’ Chi-Chi asked. 

‘Yeah, I’m fine. I’m just not very hungry. I don’t think I’m going to finish my thirds. Can I please be excused?’

Chi-Chi’s frown deepened. ‘Of course. And if you get hungry later there’ll be snacks in the fridge. I’ve put labels on them.’

Gohan nodded and pushed back his chair and stood. He hadn’t felt like fourth helpings in weeks. As he walked up the steps, he could just hear his mum and Piccolo talking again. They were speaking softer now and Gohan couldn’t shake the feeling that they were talking about him. 

///

It was one of Gohan’s study days and Piccolo was meditating near one of his favourite waterfalls. As much as he had come to value the time he spent with Chi-Chi and Gohan, he found himself needing time by himself to clear his mind. He was meditating in dappled shade rather than full sun. It took longer to energise him, but today he felt like that kind of slow replenishing.

A surge of ki energy flashed in the distance. Piccolo was on his feet and taking off before he’d fully registered it as Gohan. That kind of sudden energy drawing could only signify danger and combat. Piccolo gritted his teeth and flew as fast as he could. 

He arrived at the study master’s large house just as the ki energy cut off as quickly as it had appeared. There weren’t any smoking ruins, no other unfamiliar energy surges that would indicate the presence of enemies. Piccolo hovered above the compound and kept his own ki hidden. His ears twitched as he heard a familiar voice.

‘I’m sorry,’ Gohan said. ‘I just… it was sudden. Um.’

‘Hey, don’t sweat it. There’s nothing wrong with being a little jumpy. When I’m focused in the lab and I get startled I _shriek_ ,’ said a second voice.

Gohan gave a short laugh, but it wasn’t a very happy sound. ‘Okay. Uh, so what _about_ imaginary numbers?’

Piccolo relaxed. No threat. He was about to leave when his attention was caught by movement out of the corner of his eye. There were two humans standing near each other in the garden. Neither of them were fighters by the look of them and he couldn’t feel their ki at all. The one in the long white coat was ranting and gesturing frantically. The other one with the bright hair was nodding along.

The one with the coat seemed to getting more agitated as he spoke. He tugged at his hair. The bright-haired one gently pulled his hand away from his head and held it. Her thumb traced small circles on the back of his hand. His ranting faded away and they just looked at each other.

Piccolo had to force himself to stop staring and leave. His ki was on the brink of escaping his control and he didn’t want Gohan to know he was here. His pulse had kicked up and it had nothing to do with the way he was exerting himself as he flew back toward the forest. It had been such a simple gesture, the moment of… intimacy… that he’d just witnessed. There was something deeply uncomfortable about having seen it, but Piccolo couldn’t bring himself to have any regrets. 

He could almost feel knowledge and memories that didn’t belong to him realigning and suddenly _making sense_. Fusing with Nail had given Piccolo access to a complex society’s worth of information about interacting with others. He had Namek words for concepts that he’d previously struggled to pick up from observation. And suddenly things had shifted again, giving Piccolo the clearest understanding of what he wanted. Of why he’d been accepting Chi-Chi’s invitations. Why he didn’t mind the very occasional touch from her when a part of him still associated any contact with violence. 

He landed lightly beside his waterfall and growled to himself. Fusing with a human would have been a lot more useful to him, if such a thing were even possible. He had Namek concepts and a Namek understanding of... this. And there was too much room for doubt. So much of himself came from King Piccolo, more than he’d consciously integrated back in the very beginning. Could he even _trust_ his own impulses? Chi-Chi hung around with heroes. She liked… that sort of person. And whatever else Piccolo knew about himself, he knew he wasn’t like them. Not like the _heroes_.

His head tilted back and he let out a long, weary sigh. He was slightly disgusted at himself for even considering what he was about to do, but his options were severely limited. He needed to talk and this wasn’t something he wanted to discuss with Chi-Chi. 

///

Kami was surprised to feel Piccolo approaching the Lookout. He only turned up during moments of great emotional turmoil and it seemed as if today was no exception. Kami leaned more heavily on his staff and kept his ki low and quiet. He was almost certain Piccolo wasn’t looking for a fight, but it never hurt to reinforce his image.

When Piccolo landed, Kami blinked. ‘You feel different.’ He’d meant to be more circumspect, but the difference was striking.

‘Well, I did come back from the dead,’ Piccolo said with a sneer.

‘No, this is something more fundamental. Something in your ki. In your soul. There’s more... distance between us, than before.’

Piccolo had been getting tenser as Kami spoke, but at the last comment he relaxed slightly. ‘Good.’ He sighed. ‘I... fused, while I was on Namek. With one of their warriors. He’s a part of me now.’

Kami’s eyes widened and he stared hard at Piccolo. ‘And he was a person in his own right that had nothing to do with you? Not another wayward fragment of… us?’ Was that even possible?

‘Yes. You... don’t know much about the Nameks, do you?’ Piccolo asked. His expression was one of open puzzlement, like the thought hadn’t occurred to him before now.

‘No, I don’t,’ Kami said gently. ‘The person I was a part of came to Earth very young. You probably know more about our people than I do.’

Piccolo grunted. They sat in silence for a while before he spoke again. ‘That’s what I’m here about. That... person.’

Kami smiled. ‘I didn’t think you were here for my company.’

Piccolo narrowed his eyes, refusing to engage with the joke. ‘He split into you and King Piccolo. And King Piccolo was the... evil parts of him, right?’

Kami sighed. ‘You’re not King Piccolo. You’re your own person.’

‘But I came _from_ him,’ Piccolo insisted. ‘I need to know...’ he trailed off and growled to himself. Kami gave him the space to organise his thoughts. ‘Nameks enjoy company. I learned that from... Nail. The warrior I fused with. But I don’t like a lot of company. But I’ve also never seen you surrounded by lots of people either. You live in practically as much solitude as I do. Except for Popo, I suppose. So who got the desire for company? Did King Piccolo have it? Was it _evil_?’

Kami sighed. ‘Good and evil are by their nature complex concepts. Few things are wholly either, and traits are no exception. The separation involved splitting away all things that would have made me an unsuitable guardian. Cruelty, pride, the lust for power, all those things that became King Piccolo. But I gave up more than that.’ Kami fell silent for a moment. He could sense that he had Piccolo’s complete and undivided attention.

‘Like what?’ Piccolo finally demanded.

‘I also lost selfishness. But it’s hard to lose something like that without losing… self. King Piccolo surrounded himself with his children and he cared about them. Most people would be surprised by that, would be unable to see why the “evil” half retained the capacity to love.’ Kami gave a soft, mirthless laugh. ‘That is the kind of love I gave up. Selfish love. The sort of love that looks at people and decides “yes, I like _this_ person more than _that_ one. It means they matter more, they’re more important”.’

Piccolo flinched, the movement so quick that Kami would have missed it if he hadn’t been watching. ‘And that’s evil,’ Piccolo said flatly.

‘That’s... complicated,’ said Kami. ‘It can be a source of evil. When you value certain people more, by definition you are valuing other people less. But very few people love universally, without hierarchy or preference, and yet they still manage to do good. In fact most people don’t operate that way and can be uncomfortable around those that do.’

‘Goku works like that.’

‘I think he’s _close_ to working that way. It’s quite remarkable.’

‘People aren’t uncomfortable around _him_. People like him.’ Kami could detect a bitterness beneath Piccolo’s words.

‘Being able to love at all is important too,’ Kami added gently.

Piccolo grunted. ‘I hate talking to you.’

Kami nodded amicably. There would be no point in saying that Piccolo was here by his own choice, hatred or not.

///

Chi-Chi opened the door when Bulma knocked. Gohan was looking even more miserable than usual and Bulma kept shooting him worried glances. Chi-Chi felt cold.

‘Is there something wrong?’ she asked.

Gohan kept staring at the ground. Bulma gave her a friendly if strained smile. ‘Nothing’s wrong. I think we’re just a little on edge.’

Gohan mumbled something under his breath.

‘Did you say something?’ Chi-Chi asked carefully.

‘No.’

Chi-Chi looked up at Bulma, who just shrugged back in response.

‘Well, dinner will be ready soon, why don’t you go and wash your hands?’

‘Okay,’ said Gohan.

Chi-Chi pressed her lips together and waited until Gohan was out of earshot. ‘What happened?’ she asked.

Bulma blew out a long breath. ‘Nothing bad happened. It’s just we were studying and there was a loud noise from the lab downstairs. Gohan leapt out of his seat and there was just this _look_ on his face. Like he was going to attack someone. I’d never seen him look so… like that. Like he wanted to _hurt_ someone.’ Bulma glanced at Chi-Chi’s face and hurried on. ‘But look, the first thing he did was get between me and the door. I think he was trying to protect me.’

Chi-Chi nodded slowly, feeling numb. ‘I see. Just… just what happened on Namek?’

Bulma shrugged again, kind of helplessly. ‘I can’t tell you much. I stayed out of the search after our ship got trashed trying to rig something up. After that I spent some time as a frog. Long story. Anyway, I didn’t see much of the fighting or of that Freeza. I heard things from Krillin and Gohan, but they were both reluctant to tell me everything. Probably trying to protect me again, like I couldn’t handle the truth.’ Bulma rolled her eyes. ‘Fighters! I told you most of what I knew when I called.’

Chi-Chi nodded again and her eyes reflexively went over to the stairs that Gohan had disappeared up. ‘I’ve been trying not to push with Gohan. He clearly doesn’t want to talk about it, and I’ve been trying to let him forget, but maybe I should push? Should I try and get him talking? Do you think that would help?’

Bulma held up her hands. ‘Sorry, not my area. I’m just the study master.’

Chi-Chi’s lip twitched, even though her insides were roiling with doubt and worry. ‘Maybe I will try and talk to him. The worst he can say is “no”.’

Bulma hesitated and then reached out to give her an awkward pat on the shoulder. ‘Good luck.’

That did bring a real smile to Chi-Chi’s face. ‘Goodbye, Bulma.’

‘Yeah. Bye, Chi-Chi.’

Chi-Chi got through dinner on autopilot. It had become second nature to ignore Gohan’s obvious mood shift and pretend everything was normal. She’d been waiting so long for him to start the conversation that she wasn’t sure how to approach it. 

When they’d both finished eating, Gohan pushed back his chair and Chi-Chi finally spoke. ‘Would you stay here for a minute, Gohan?’

He shot her a wary look that made her heart clench. ‘…yeah?’

‘Do you want to talk about what happened today?’

Gohan looked away and shrugged. 

‘Sometimes it can help to talk,’ said Chi-Chi. 

‘What did Bulma tell you?’ Gohan asked without looking up. 

‘That you got startled and that your first response was to get ready for a fight. She also said that your next instinct was to get in between her and the door to protect her.’

Gohan looked up sharply and then looked away again. ‘Maybe.’

‘Have you read about the fight-or-flight response, yet? It’s natural to have an aggressive response to fear.’

This time when Gohan looked up, his eyes were blazing. ‘I’m not _scared_.’

‘Well what are you feeling!? I told you that you can tell me about anything! You came back from Namek and everything feels like it’s changed and I don’t know how to reach you anymore!’

A flicker of hurt crossed Gohan’s face and Chi-Chi regretted yelling, but couldn’t seem to stop. ‘I tried giving you space, but it doesn’t seem to be working. You’re hurting and I don’t know how to help!’

Gohan stood up and walked around the table toward her. Chi-Chi stood as well and still wasn’t entirely prepared for it when Gohan hugged her. He shouldn’t be the one trying to comfort her. It was too grown-up and it was _her_ job. 

‘Tell me about Namek,’ Chi-Chi said quietly. 

And Gohan did. He kept hugging her as he talked about the spaceship getting damaged, about seeing Freeza for the first time and watching him killing Nameks, killing _children_. He talked about the overwhelming fear and trying to stay away from Vegeta and Freeza and the Ginyu Force while desperately trying to keep them from the Dragon Balls. Then Goku had arrived and things had gotten better and worse. They’d teamed up with Vegeta. They’d managed to collect the Namek Dragon Balls themselves and keep them out of his hands. Piccolo had arrived and then the final battle with Freeza had happened. Eventually Gohan ran out of words.

Chi-Chi didn’t know what to say. It sounded horrific. The constant terror Gohan must have felt, the battles against powers that no child should have to face. The sort of enemies that _no one_ should have to face. She remembered how scared she’d been at times during her own childhood, when Goku had faced global threats. ‘You’re safe now,’ she said. It was the only reassurance she could think to make.

‘I know,’ Gohan said, his voice a little hoarse from talking for so long. He pulled away from the hug. ‘I’m not scared of Freeza or Vegeta or anyone like that.’ 

Chi-Chi stayed silent. 

Gohan twisted the bottom of his shirt in his hands and wouldn’t look at her when he spoke again. ‘Freeza killed Krillin. And he laughed. And he nearly killed Piccolo and he was laughing and smiling and he knew how much it was hurting Dad. And Dad got really mad. And so did I. When I fought Freeza I was really mad and I thought about how he’d laughed and I wanted to hurt him. I wanted to hurt him like he’d hurt all those people. And not just because it would stop him. I wanted him to _hurt_.’

Chi-Chi’s barely managed to hide her surprise. She knew what Gohan was talking about. There could be a fine line between wanting stop someone from doing evil things and wanting… revenge. It was something Goku had never seemed to have trouble with. He always wanted to stop the bad guy from hurting other people, but never for vengeance. He forgave so easily, would never even _hesitate_ to offer an open hand of friendship to even the worst villain. 

To see Gohan struggling with his own darker impulses hit too close to home. Somewhere deep in the back of Chi-Chi’s head she feared that he’d gotten those impulses from her. He couldn’t _possibly_ have gotten them from sweet-natured Goku. She gave Gohan another hard hug before letting him go so she could look him in the eye. ‘You listen to me. You are a good person. And do you know how I know?’ she asked.

Gohan shook his head warily. 

‘Because you _are_ worried about doing the right thing. You’re allowed to have thoughts like that. Everyone does.’ She paused. ‘Most people do, anyway. And that’s okay. What matters is _doing_ the right thing.’

‘But what if I _don’t_ do the right thing?’ Gohan asked in a small voice.

‘Then you learn from it and try to do better next time,’ Chi-Chi said firmly. ‘And it’s never too late to start. Just look at… look at Piccolo.’

Gohan opened his mouth then closed it again, looking thoughtful. ‘He and Dad were enemies once.’

‘Yes.’

‘And now he’s a hero.’

Chi-Chi’s expression faltered for a moment before she smoothed it out again. ‘Yes. Because he’s trying to do the right thing.’


	6. Chapter 6

Piccolo sometimes turned up on days when Gohan was off studying with Bulma. Chi-Chi was usually around, as she had only managed to sit in on a couple of calculus lessons. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to learn and it wasn’t as if Bulma was anything other than very carefully polite, but Chi-Chi felt the absence of her own education keenly enough to be uncomfortable at the best of times. 

Bulma had also given her a couple of worksheets. They’d been a little bit… jumbled, but it was very sweet of her. It had made it easier for Chi-Chi to follow along with Gohan’s calculus textbook. Chi-Chi had tried to give herself a few hours per week to painstakingly read through the chapters and scribble her way through the problems. She was making progress. Slowly. 

Today however, while Gohan was off with Bulma, she was at home and Piccolo was sitting across from her at the dining table. He was sipping his tea and they were chatting about Gohan. Things had gotten better since the discussion about Namek. Gohan wasn’t quite as cheerful as he used to be, but the pain and rawness seemed to have eased. He laughed more and if he tended to get quiet and introspective sometimes, well, that was just a part of growing up. Or so Chi-Chi told herself.

A comfortable silence fell between her and Piccolo. He seldom spoke unless he had something specific to say, but he wasn’t the least bit awkward about silence. It was restful. Chi-Chi took another sip of her own tea and put it back on the table. Piccolo’s eyes traced the movement. 

‘Have you spent much time with the other Nameks?’ Chi-Chi asked. A thought had been nagging at her for weeks now and she needed to ask.

Piccolo’s grimaced. ‘No. I don’t… even with Nail, there isn’t much for me there. With them.’

‘So you won’t be going with them? When they make the wish to find a new world?’

Piccolo snorted. ‘No.’ That was it, no hesitation, no thought or rationalising. It looked like Piccolo had made his choice and to him it was an obvious one that didn’t require elaboration. 

Some of the tension Chi-Chi had been carrying eased. The idea of Piccolo _leaving_ made her insides twist. But he wasn’t leaving. He was staying. Chi-Chi had pressed her hands flat against the table between them without noticing, like she’d been seeking an anchor. She only realised it because Piccolo was staring at them. 

He was so focused that he didn’t seem to notice her regard. She lifted her palms off the table and laced her fingers together in front of the cup. Piccolo kept staring intently up until the point she brought her hands together. Then his gaze flicked up, his eyes widened. He cleared his throat. ‘Thank you for the tea. I should… go.’ 

He pushed his chair back and stood and Chi-Chi stood with him. ‘I… I’m glad you’re staying on Earth,’ she said. She couldn’t find the right words to express how deeply she meant it and she wasn’t even sure she wanted to. It would be… too much. ‘Goodbye, Piccolo.’

‘Goodbye,’ he replied, inclining his head the barest fraction. Then he turned and left and Chi-Chi stood there wondering why he’d been staring.

///

Piccolo arrived at Chi-Chi’s door just as the sun was setting. Gohan had been more energetic during their last few training sessions and Piccolo had adjusted the amount of fighting versus meditation.

Chi-Chi opened the door at his knock and smiled. ‘Hello, you two. Are you staying for dinner, Piccolo?’

‘Yes, thank you,’ said Piccolo.

They made their way into the dinning room and Piccolo slid into the usual chair opposite Chi-Chi’s. Gohan went off to wash his hands and Chi-Chi went through to the kitchen. The scents and sounds drifted through the air and the steady predictability of it was almost meditative.

Gohan returned just as Chi-Chi swept through the kitchen bearing a large tray loaded with food and tea. Piccolo stood and helped her settle the tray on the table and picked up the cups and teapot. He poured for the three of them while Chi-Chi set out food for her and Gohan. They didn’t jostle each other, even when they had to reach across the table at the same time. 

Piccolo sat back and brought his cup up to his face. ‘Camomile,’ he said after a moment.

Chi-Chi smiled at him. ‘Yes. Good for unwinding after a long day.’

Piccolo nodded and took a small sip. Gohan had cleared his bowl and his gaze flicked away from the serving dishes and toward Chi-Chi. ‘Did you fight alongside other people much when you were adventuring?’ he asked.

Chi-Chi paused and turned her attention to Gohan. ‘Not much. Why do you ask?’

Gohan shrugged. ‘Piccolo’s been teaching me about sensing people’s ki and how it’s useful for allies as well as enemies. You know, so it’s easier not to get in another fighter’s way.’

Chi-Chi gaze flicked over to Piccolo before returning to Gohan. ‘The only times I did anything like that were with… with your father,’ she said.

Gohan tilted his head thoughtfully. ‘Oh. Could you tell me about one of those times?’

Chi-Chi’s expression was hard to read, but after a moment she starting telling a story about an unquenchable fire that threatened her father’s castle. 

Piccolo sipped his tea and listened. It was… interesting to hear about Chi-Chi’s time as a fighter. Even if it was strange hearing about parts of Goku’s past that felt closer to Piccolo’s earlier memories of him. 

‘And everyone was okay?’ Gohan asked when Chi-Chi finished telling the story.

‘Oh yes. At the time it didn’t seem possible, but the flames fell away and everyone was fine. Your grandfather had even managed to save the dress,’ Chi-Chi said.

‘Do you have any more stories about when you and Dad went on adventures?’ Gohan asked. 

Chi-Chi looked down and stirred the contents of her bowl with her sticks. ‘Not any ones as exciting as that story.’

Gohan cocked his head. ‘Do you ever miss being a hero?’ he asked.

Piccolo noticed the way Chi-Chi’s shoulders tightened at the question. ‘There’s a lot more to life than being a hero. Like studying.’

‘I know,’ Gohan said. ‘I don’t think I want to be a hero. I’m not… I mean there’s _lots_ of heroes. Like Dad and Krillin and Piccolo. And there’re fewer people who are good at calculus. Like Bulma.’

Chi-Chi relaxed and gave Gohan a warm smile. ‘Exactly. You could be a scientist or an engineer, just like Bulma, and help the world that way. There are plenty of problems in the world that can’t be solved with fighting.’

The conversation turned to engineers and Piccolo stopped paying attention. There was an uncomfortable prickling sensation beneath his skin. Being called a hero by Gohan made him grimace. Especially since he’d lost so soundly on Namek, even at his strongest. The only reason he’d gone at all was to bring back Gohan and in the end Gohan had been the one dragging _him_ around while he’d nearly bled out over the both of them.

He wasn’t a hero like Goku, not like any of the other fighters, and he didn’t appreciate having that brought up. And the worst part of it was that Gohan meant every word. His eyes practically _shone_ whenever he looked in Piccolo’s direction.

Piccolo stayed silent for the rest of the conversation and sipped his tea even slower than usual as an excuse not to talk. Chi-Chi kept Gohan talking about science and maths. She also kept shooting odd glances in his direction. He tried to keep his eyes on his teacup.

When dinner ended, Gohan went upstairs for study and Chi-Chi turned to him. ‘What’s wrong?’ she asked, a small crease forming between her eyes. Piccolo felt the bizarre urge to smooth it away with his fingers. 

He dropped her gaze. ‘Nothing.’

‘Oh no, I saw the way you looked during dinner. That wasn’t nothing. Remember when _you_ said that it can help to talk, to have someone to listen?’

Piccolo scowled into his teacup. Maybe it would be worth explaining. Something in him twisted painfully at the thought of Chi-Chi looking at him with the kind of admiration that Gohan did. Without her actually _knowing_ about him, what he was really like. He growled under his breath and forced himself to meet her eyes. ‘I’m _not_ a hero!’ he snapped. 

Chi-Chi gave him an unreadable look and motioned for him to continue.

Piccolo drew a deep breath. It was easier to talk now that he’d said that much and the words started pouring out. ‘No matter what Gohan tries to say, no matter how much anyone _wants_ it to be true, I’m not. I went up against Raditz because he taunted me and I wanted to get my revenge. I fought the other saiyans because they were threatening the planet _I_ was living on. I went to Namek for Gohan. Not to stop Freeza, or save the galaxy, or even to help “my people”. The only part of me that cares about the Nameks is Nail and it’s not like there’s enough of him left in me to get a vote. I don’t care about helping or protecting people. I care about Gohan and you and that’s about it.’ He folded his arms and tilted his chin up, waiting.

Chi-Chi’s eyes weren’t shinning when she looked at him, they were _blazing_. ‘Good,’ she said, low and intense. Piccolo’s eyes widened. ‘I have enough heroes in my life, thank you very much. Heroes _die_.’

Piccolo was speechless. The last time he’d seen her this ferocious was back when they’d been enemies. He found himself unable to tear his gaze away.

‘It’s hard caring about the whole universe day after day in the face of each new crisis. I’m not out there, you know, standing on the frontline between the galaxy and whatever wants to destroy it _this_ time. I’m here, with Gohan, at home, trying to look after the child that I love. And that responsibility is bigger than the whole damn universe! Maybe that’s selfish, but I’m finding it harder and harder to care. I am sick and tired of _heroes_.’ She practically spat the last word. Then she blinked at Piccolo and looked down. Her rage seemed to fade away. 

‘I don’t think it’s selfish,’ Piccolo said after a moment. ‘And if it is, who cares? You look after Gohan well.’

Chi-Chi huffed a laugh. ‘So do you. I just want…’ She paused, her gaze flicked up to Piccolo and back down to the table. ‘I just _want_.’ She sighed and stood up, pushing back from the table. ‘But that’s not important. We’re going to bring Goku back and things are going to be… well. I’m going to clear the table.’

Piccolo stood as well. ‘I’ll help.’ 

She looked over at him, her expression unreadable. ‘Thank you, Piccolo.’

///

The phone rang while Chi-Chi was in the middle of sweeping the kitchen floor. She went to answer it, putting aside the broom as she made her way to the lounge room.

‘Hello?’

‘Hi, Chi-Chi, it’s Bulma.’

Chi-Chi smiled. ‘It’s good to hear from you. How are you doing?’

‘What? Oh, fine. You know how it is. The adventure’s over and now it’s just a matter of sorting stuff out.’ There was a pause from the other end. ‘That’s... actually what I wanted to talk to you about. Some of the, uh, stuff. You’re kind of the only person I can talk to about this.’

Chi-Chi frowned. ‘Is this about Namek?’

‘Uh, kind of? You know how Vegeta came back to Earth with all the Nameks, right?’

‘Yes.’

The silence stretched on Bulma’s end again. ‘He’s not nearly so evil anymore,’ she finally said. ‘He hardly ever talks about murder now.’

Chi-Chi’s frown deepened. ‘Well that’s good, I suppose.’

‘Yes. Yes, it is good.’ The silence stretched again. ‘He’s also kind of hot, don’t you think? I mean, just physically, you know? If you don’t think too hard about the... murderousness.’

Chi-Chi stared off into the middle distance, trying to process what Bulma had just said. 

‘Hello?’ Bulma said tentatively. 

Chi-Chi drew in a deep breath. ‘Yes, I’m still here and… I don’t think I quite see it myself,’ she added weakly.

‘Oh. Yeah, that’s fair. I just, uh... I thought I could maybe talk to you a bit? I mean, you can at least get what I’m talking about regarding hot alien fighters.’

Chi-Chi felt her face heating. Had she been so obvious in front of Bulma? Obviously nothing was going to happen, but if she was being objective, even about just the physical aspects… Chi-Chi cleared her throat. ‘I, ah, that’s a fair point. I don’t… really have much room to judge. Not that I would judge!’ she added hastily. ‘It’s good to know your own mind.’

‘Thanks, it means a lot to hear that. And it’s not as if Vegeta’s the first bad guy to end up… less bad,’ Bulma added knowingly.

‘No, he isn’t,’ Chi-Chi agreed in measured tones. She thought about how much Piccolo had changed in the time she’d gotten to know him. How good he was for Gohan. How much he meant to her.

‘So do you think it would be safe to go for it? Would he be able to, you know, control himself, do you think?’ Bulma asked.

Chi-Chi frowned. If the question had been about Piccolo, she would absolutely know how to answer it. He had more than enough control and thoughtfulness about him. But she had no idea why Bulma was asking _her_ about Vegeta. ‘I don’t really know him.’

‘Well, yeah, but I mean… you and Goku... he’s a saiyan. Can he control himself in bed or would I have to be a fighter like you to stand up to it?’

Goku. Chi-Chi’s eyes widened and she felt a little light-headed. Bulma had been talking about hot aliens and Chi-Chi had instantly started thinking about Piccolo. Not that that meant anything! She barely thought of Goku as an _alien_. She’d always assumed he had been born on Earth. ‘Oh yes! Goku.’

‘Well yeah, what other hot aliens do you know?’ There was a pause. ‘Oh. _Oh_. You thought I was talking about Piccolo, didn’t you!’ Bulma sounded delighted.

Chi-Chi covered her eyes with her free hand. Why did Bulma have to be so quick? Shouldn’t she be focusing on calculus and not Chi-Chi’s embarrassing slip-ups? 

‘Hello? Are you okay, Chi-Chi?’ Bulma asked.

Chi-Chi let out a long breath. ‘Yes, I’m fine. I don’t think you have to be a fighter to sleep with a saiyan. Goku… it never seemed hard for him to be gentle. Using that kind of strength and power isn’t easy for a fighter, especially if they’re tapping into their ki,’ Chi-Chi said. It was all too easy to remember her flying lessons with Piccolo, how difficult it was to feel her own strength when she wasn’t looking for it.

There was a pause on Bulma’s end. ‘Thanks. Are we going to talk about the other thing?’

‘No,’ Chi-Chi said firmly. ‘I’m happily married to my husband, who is one of your closest friends and currently _dead_. I may have noticed that there was a “hot alien fighter” around, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to do anything about it.’

‘Hey now,’ Bulma said placatingly. ‘I wasn’t trying to suggest you were. I just don’t have anyone to objectify boys with. I thought we could gossip or something. I’m, uh, not really good at “girl talk”.’ 

Chi-Chi snorted. ‘Well I haven’t had much practice either.’ She took a deep breath. That didn’t mean she couldn’t at least _try_. ‘Good luck with Vegeta. I mean it. And if you want to gossip about that later, I’d be happy to.’

Chi-Chi could hear the smile in Bulma’s voice. ‘Great! I might just take you up on that. It’s good to be able to talk to you about… stuff.’

‘And you,’ Chi-Chi said. More than she could say. She was mostly annoyed at herself for slipping up rather than at Bulma for being perceptive. And she trusted Bulma to keep it quiet. Not that there _was_ anything to keep quiet, just…

‘Bye, Chi-Chi.’

‘Goodbye, Bulma, and good luck.’

///

Gohan chewed on his lip and finally put his pencil down. ‘What’s it like being a scientist?’ he asked, looking up at Bulma.

She stared down at him for a moment. ‘Uh… good question. I consider myself more of an engineer. All those controlled experiments and writing up papers isn’t really my style. I like working with my hands and building stuff. Then I find out if it works on the fly. But then I have the resources to do that. Why? Are you thinking about careers?’

Gohan shrugged. ‘Yeah, I’ve been thinking about stuff. I think I like studying more than fighting.’

Bulma’s face lit up with a big smile. ‘Ha! Score one for the intellectuals!’ She glanced down at Gohan. ‘What I mean is, it’s nice to know that someone from both sides can see the value of book-learning. Hanging around fighters is definitely exciting, but it’s easy to get sucked into the idea that everything can be solved by punching. Or, failing that, a particularly large energy blast. Even though I _know_ that’s not true. So you’re thinking of becoming a scientist?’

Gohan shrugged again. ‘Or maybe an engineer, like you.’

Bulma’s grin widened and she ruffled his hair. He batted her away, but gently. ‘Good for you. And maybe good for the world. You’re smart and we can always use more smart people working on at the cutting edge.’ 

‘So maybe I could help you fix those problems you were talking about? The big ones that can’t be solved with fighting?’

She tilted her head to look at him more closely. ‘That’s… not quite the sort of work I do. Besides, the really _big_ humanitarian projects have heaps of people working on them, so being good at teamwork becomes just as important as having smarts. Maybe more important.’

‘I can do teamwork! I’ve fought in lots of battles with other fighters,’ Gohan said indignantly. He’d fought alongside Piccolo and Krillin and his dad. Besides, Piccolo was helping him learn how to signal what he was about to do and he was getting good at sensing an ally’s ki. 

Bulma pressed her lips together and nodded. ‘Yeah, I guess so, but have you ever given much thought about going to school? The learning’s a bit less intense than what Chi-Chi and I have you working on, but being around a lot of other people is a kind of learning experience all on its own.’

Gohan frowned. He’d read about school because it kept coming up in the textbooks, but not as something that applied to _him_. ‘I hadn’t thought about it much.’

‘Uh, actually, maybe let me talk to Chi-Chi first and maybe don’t mention this conversation to her yet?’

Gohan gave her a searching look. ‘Do you think you’re going to get into trouble?’

Bulma snorted. ‘I’m an adult. I don’t “get into trouble”.’ But she still looked kind of nervous. 

Gohan nodded to himself. ‘I won’t tell on you.’

Bulma’s smile was a little crooked. ‘Thanks. And speaking of parental stuff, it won’t be long before the Namek Dragon Balls are ready.’ 

Gohan grinned. ‘Yeah! Dende’s talked about it. His people will finally have their own home again.’

Bulma blinked. ‘And we can bring Goku back too,’ she said in a strange tone.

‘Yeah, it’ll be good to see him again.’

‘You don’t seem very excited.’

Gohan shrugged. ‘I guess I don’t think it will change stuff much. Mum says he was around a lot when I was younger, before he died the first time, but I don’t remember that as well. And I don’t like thinking about Namek.’ It wasn’t so bad anymore. The nightmares had stopped a while ago and he _could_ think about Namek without feeling sick and scared. His clearest memories of his dad were talking in hospital and that final fight against Freeza. Dad was the _best_ hero, but Gohan didn’t feel like he’d ever be a hero. He hoped his dad wouldn’t be disappointed.

‘Are you… upset?’

Gohan blinked. ‘No. I just don’t think about him much. Dad went on a lot of adventures, but when people tell me the stories most of them seem to end with him fixing things all by himself. It’s like what you were talking about with school. I think Dad _doesn’t_ need to work with other people. Not when it really matters.’ 

‘He loves you,’ Bulma said quickly.

‘And I love him. He’s my _dad_. But…’ Gohan frowned, trying to find the right words. ‘Mum needs me. It’s why I ran home the very first time. And these days I think Piccolo needs me too. And it’s… easy to need people who need you? I don’t think my dad needs me.’ 

Bulma was staring at him with a stunned expression. ‘That’s… kind of insightful. And mature. I think. Wow. I, uh, don’t know if you’re meant to realise that sort of thing so early. When you’re a kid you aren’t responsible for your parents. _Especially_ not for your parents. Shit, I’m not the best person to talk about this stuff.’ A second later she clapped a hand over her mouth. ‘I didn’t swear! Please don’t tell Chi-Chi!’

Gohan laughed. ‘I said I wouldn’t tell on you.’

Bulma lowered her hand. ‘Good. You want to maybe take a look at the labs before we head back to your mum’s? If you’re considering a science-y career?’

Gohan leapt up. ‘Yeah!’ He was almost sure Bulma was trying to bribe him, but it was a _good_ bribe.

///

Everyone was piled in the courtyard of the Capsule Corp compound for the activation of the Namek Dragon Balls. All the fighters, Bulma, Piccolo and of course Gohan. Even Vegeta was standing off in a corner. His presence made Chi-Chi uneasy, despite knowing Bulma’s… opinions. She was grateful to have Piccolo at her shoulder as a calm, solid presence. 

Gohan was holding a whispered conversation with the small Namek child, Dende. Chi-Chi was glad he’d found someone his own age to talk to. It had never really occurred to her that Gohan might have been lonely without other people his age to talk to and listen to. She was seriously considering Bulma’s case for sending him to school soon.

‘Alright everyone,’ Dende said, straightening up and giving Gohan one final smile. ‘It’s time.’

A hush fell as Dende spread his hands and began reciting in his own language. Chi-Chi snuck a glance at Piccolo, wondering if he could understand the words. He caught her eye and gave her one of his blink-and-you-miss-it smiles. She smiled back, before she even realised she was doing it, and then quickly turned around. She stared at the Namek Dragon Balls instead. Today was the day. It had been three whole months and Goku would finally be alive again. 

The Namek dragon appeared in a blaze of light that pierced the sudden and unnatural darkness. He was as huge as Shenron, but less lithe and far more muscular. Chi-Chi’s heart was beating hard in her chest and something twisted in her guts as Dende made the wish. 

‘I cannot grant this wish as Goku Son is not dead.’ The words seemed to appear in Chi-Chi’s head without her actually having heard them. 

‘What?!’ exclaimed Krillin. ‘Well, uh, wish him back to Earth then, if he’s stranded in space.’

Dende made the wish. Chi-Chi could almost hear her own pulse.

‘That wish, I cannot grant. Goku Son does not wish to return.’

Chi-Chi stopped breathing. Around her the rest of the group had erupted into shouts and arguments. Bulma had thrown her hands up and was arguing with Krillin. Dende was trying to get Gohan’s attention and the Namek Dragon’s all at once. Vegeta shoved through the crowd and made his way toward the spaceship.

‘No,’ Chi-Chi said in a small voice. No one heard her. Not even Piccolo, who was standing right by her shoulder. She balled her fists and threw her head back. ‘No!’ 

Silence fell for a moment as everyone turned to look at her. Chi-Chi ignored them all. ‘No! You will listen to me! King Kai!’ she shouted. ‘I know you can hear me! I want to speak with my husband! I want to speak with Goku!’ Even the dragon was silent and everyone was staring at her. ‘King Kai!’ 

‘What?’ an irritated voice sounded in the back of Chi-Chi’s head. Triumph surged in her.

‘Hello, King Kai?’ she said in a more polite tone. ‘It’s very important that I speak to Goku. Right now. Would you please be so kind as to provide a telepathic connection?’

There was a sigh. ‘You know, I’m not some sort of handy galactic telephone service.’

‘Please,’ said Chi-Chi, the word coming out far more desperate than she’d intended. 

‘Oh, alright! But don’t think I’m going to make a habit of this.’

Chi-Chi took a moment to look out over the group of people that was still surrounding her and the dragon. ‘I, um. I’m going talk with my husband. You should… make whatever wish you think would be appropriate. I’ll just be… over there,’ she said, her face heating up. She cast one last look at Piccolo. ‘Can you…?’

‘I’ll watch Gohan,’ he said and folded his arms. ‘Go.’

Chi-Chi nodded and went off away from the crowd. ‘King Kai?’ she asked tentatively when she was out of earshot.

‘Yes, I’m here and here’s–’

‘Hi Chi-Chi!’ came a cheerful and devastatingly familiar voice.

‘Goku.’

‘Yeah! King Kai says you want to talk?’

Chi-Chi opened her mouth and closed it again. ‘We all thought you were dead!’ she finally blurted. 

‘Huh, I guess it did look kind of bad. I managed to escape at the last minute, but I was injured and ended up crashing on Yardrat. The locals have been looking after me. They’re really great!’

Chi-Chi took one long breath and then another. He’d been injured. He’d had no way of contacting Earth. Maybe… maybe… ‘The Namek Dragon said you didn’t want to come home.’

‘Oh, I can’t come home yet! There’s this really cool technique they use here called Instant Transmission. You can use it to _teleport_. Can you imagine how useful that’s going to be in battle?’

‘I don’t care! I need you here! _Gohan_ needs you here. You’re a husband, a father, you can’t just go gallivanting out across the galaxy. You’re needed _here_.’ 

‘But Chi-Chi–’ Goku pleaded.

‘No. I can’t do it,’ Chi-Chi said simply, interrupting. She’d reached a place beyond her anger and hurt, a place that was filled with a sort of terrible calmness. ‘Not anymore. I can’t pretend that this is fine and that you and I… work. We don’t. Not, not anymore.’

‘What do you mean?’ Goku asked, nothing but bewilderment in his voice.

‘I don’t think I want to wait for you anymore. I don’t want you to be the husband I’m holding myself back for. I mean, you _did_ die. A long time ago. The vows said til death do us part, after all.’ Chi-Chi tried to chuckle, but it came out as more of a sob. She pressed her lips together tightly.

‘But…’ still that same bewilderment in Goku’s voice, ‘I love you, Chi-Chi.’

‘You love everyone.’

‘Well… yeah?’

Chi-Chi let out a long breath. ‘It’s taken me years to realise that and longer still to realise that I wanted more than that. I wanted to be special to you.’ It sounded so _selfish_ when she said it, but for the first time she considered that that might not be a bad thing.

‘I guess... I didn’t…’

Chi-Chi noticed that he wasn’t saying she _was_ special to him. ‘You’re a great and noble man. A warrior, a hero, and a, a _champion_. But you aren’t a good husband. Not for me, at least.’

‘I thought that was what you wanted. You always said so.’

‘I was young. We both were and… a good hero isn’t what I need to have a good family.’

‘Chi-Chi… I want you to be happy. I’ve only ever wanted everyone I care about to be happy and safe.’

‘I know that.’ And it was true, and even now she couldn’t help the thread of warmth that crept into her tone. She was pretty sure she’d never stop admiring what Goku was, but it wasn’t personal anymore. It couldn’t be. ‘And I still want you to be a part of Gohan’s life and maybe in a little while we can be friends again. You and me. But our marriage is over. I’m your widow, Goku. And when you decided that you weren’t coming back to me, I decided to stop waiting. It’s… over.’

The connection was silent for a long moment. ‘Okay.’ Goku sounded serious, but not even the least bit torn up. At least Chi-Chi found that a relief. She didn’t think she’d much like the person she’d be if she’d wanted him to sound… hurt.

‘Goodbye, Goku,’ she said. Her voice was calm and didn’t waver even a little bit.

‘Goodbye, Chi-Chi. I’ll be back to Earth soon. I just need to master this technique.’

‘There! I hope everyone’s happy. I shouldn’t have to listen in to conversations like that,’ King Kai’s voice exclaimed in the back of Chi-Chi’s head.

‘Thank you, King Kai. I really needed to hear him and… talk to him,’ she said.

‘Humph, well, good luck. And don’t go shouting at me again!’ With that the connection faded. 

Chi-Chi took a few deep breaths and smoothed her hands down the front of her skirts. Then she checked to make sure her hair was still pinned and none of the strands were escaping. She made her way back to the Capsule Corp Compound and found that most of the crowd had left. Her eyes darted over to Piccolo, just once, before she walked up to Bulma.

‘Hi, Chi-Chi, how did everything… go?’ Bulma asked her.

‘Good. Could you watch Gohan for the rest of the day? I don’t like to ask on such short notice–’

Bulma’s eyebrows shot up and she snuck a glance over at Piccolo. ‘I’d love to watch Gohan. Are you going to…uh.’

Chi-Chi felt her face heat a little. ‘I’m Goku’s widow. Ultimately by his choice,’ she said firmly.

Bulma cast another furtive glance in Piccolo’s direction before nodding slowly. ‘Well, there’s no accounting for taste and I _really_ don’t have room to talk, so go get him, I guess.’ She shrugged.

Chi-Chi nodded. ‘Um, yes. Thank you, Bulma. I’ll see you later this evening.’

‘If you like, it can be later tomorrow morning. Gohan’s been bugging me to let him stay for a sleepover so we can use one of my telescopes.’

Chi-Chi opened her mouth and then shut it again. ‘You know what? Yes. Thank you.’

‘No problem.’ Bulma turned to look over at Gohan and Piccolo. ‘Hey, Gohan,’ she called. ‘You’re staying the night with me. We can finally look at Mars the way you wanted to.’

Gohan rushed up. ‘We can? Thanks, Mum!’ His expression clouded. ‘What about Dad?’

Chi-Chi took a deep breath. ‘Your father isn’t coming home. He’s learning a teleportation technique on some other planet.’ She tried not to say anything that wasn’t a simple clear fact. Her words ended up sounding more clipped than she would have liked.

Gohan nodded. ‘And he’s probably out there helping people who need it, right?’

‘Probably.’

‘Okay. Maybe he’ll teach it to me when he gets back.’

‘You’re not upset?’ Chi-Chi asked. She knew she was going to have to have a long conversation about Goku with him sooner or later. And another one about Piccolo. 

He shrugged. ‘Not really. I know people out there need him to be a hero, but I… don’t. I have you and Piccolo and Bulma.’ He smiled up at them all.

That Gohan was taking the news so casually stirred a lot of old worries in Chi-Chi. She couldn’t help comparing his reaction to the way Goku took setbacks in his stride. But even that concern was getting drowned out by an overwhelming sense of relief. She was _glad_ to be able to put off those difficult conversations for now. Tonight was going to be for her. It wasn’t easy squashing the voice in the back of her head that was telling her it was wrong, but she couldn’t remember the last time she’d recklessly pursued something _she_ wanted. That used to be her main way of operating, but having a child changed things. Chi-Chi wouldn’t undo it for the universe, however, for the first time in years, she realised that just maybe there could some balance between selflessness and selfishness. _She_ didn’t want to be a hero.

‘Glad to hear it, kid,’ said Bulma. ‘Let’s go set up the guest room, I’ll let you pick your own sheets.’

‘Bye, Mum, see you tomorrow,’ said Gohan.

‘Bye, Gohan,’ she replied and watched them go.

After a moment Chi-Chi turned and walked calmly up to Piccolo. He had been staying back and keeping an eye on the space where they’d summoned the dragon. Chi-Chi couldn’t tell if he was deliberately giving her space or just processing his own reaction to seeing the Namek’s dragon and finding out about Goku’s choice.

‘Hi,’ said Chi-Chi.

He turned to face her and uncrossed his arms. ‘How are you?’ 

Chi-Chi smiled at him and floated up until they were eye-to-eye and she could put her hands on his shoulders. Slowly, giving him plenty of time to stop her if he wanted to, she leaned in to press her lips against Piccolo’s. He made a surprised sound at the first touch, but he didn’t freeze up. Instead, he placed his hands on her waist and kissed back. He wasn’t particularly good at it, but she just found that endearing. Warmth rose in her, almost like the glow of ki energy, and it made her lips tingle. It was an effort to keep the kiss chaste, but she drew back after a few heartbeats. 

‘I’m fine. Better than I’ve been for a while now.’ She paused and stared hard into his eyes as concern twisted through her. ‘Is this… okay?’ she asked haltingly. 

Piccolo took one of her hands in his. The grip was gentle, but very deliberate. His thumb brushed against the back of her hand, tracing small circles. Her nerves sang beneath that light touch. ‘Yes,’ he said, his voice low and intensely serious. He met her gaze directly. ‘This is… better than okay.’

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, that concludes the longest fic I’ve written to date. Once again, many thanks to both my editors for their invaluable advice. Additionally, huge thank you to all my readers. Your support has meant the world to me.


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